Memories of a Prince
by Kemeto No Repato
Summary: Heavily OC centric. Starts shortly before Hueco Mundo arc. OCxhime is the main pairing; their relationship is established. Sequel will have more romance, drama and action. Final chapter up! Closure of Aizen arc A/U. Down to T from M viol,no sexual cont .
1. Adjusting to Complications

Disclaimer: While I believe that all characters and ideas expressed here are products of destiny and do not belong to one person or group more than any other part of reality, I relent that the following characters and ideas may be the legally pre-existing intellectual property of Kubo Tite.

**Memories of a Prince **

_Chapter 1: Adjusting to Complications_

The sky in front of him was hazy. Although he was more than used to it, the incessant heat still irritated him on occasion. Still, watching the endless red sands blur in and out of focus was helping him relax and meditate at the moment.

He sat in a stereotypical folding chair, a simple affair that one would expect in an advanced military camp's officers tent, not the private quarters of a royal palace. He had been sitting there, occasionally drinking from the pitcher of water and glass that had been provided to him by a servant before he had gone into seclusion… 6 hours ago.

He had retired to his quarters earlier than usual this day, and the sun was already setting on the palace, he realized. '_Soon_', he thought, '_I will be able to watch these sands no longer_'. One way or the other that was true, and even though the darkness was fine for meditation, it did not fascinate him as the shifting sands did.

"_I wonder why_", he thought once again, as he had been doing all afternoon, "_I wonder why I felt obligated to take this job…I've already ruled out recognition, glory, and wealth… maybe this is the problem… I have too much time to think… I probably feel listless in the epoch of peace that has surrounded my lands…"_

He took another glass of water.

"_After all, it wasn't until I heard about the rebellion that I became truly interested…"_ his thoughts were cut short by a knocking on the door.

"My apologies, Master, but we never received your decision, and most of the castle is in the process of retiring," came the voice from the hall.

"Come in Mahad. You know that I wouldn't chastise you for doing your duties."

"Yes, Master. So have you come to a decision?"

"Yes…I think I will meet will the soutaichou tomorrow. Inform the appropriate people."

"Very well master."

"Oh, and Mahad… you're coming with me. I don't want you to miss the beginning"

"As you wish, master." And with that the servant left.

'_Yes… tomorrow will be perfect. The sooner I set things in motion, the sooner I can start doing this job and all that it entails'_, were his last thoughts before blowing out the candles.


	2. Hierarchy of Power

Disclaimer: If you absolutely need to see this, refer to chapter 1

* * *

_Chapter 2: Hierarchy of Power_

As was his routine, Yamamoto Genryuusai-soutaichou was up at the crack of dawn. In reality, it was probably not necessary, as most issues could be dealt with later in the day, even in these uncertain times of war. Even if there were an urgent matter, his fukutaichou would be more than capable and eager to deal with it in his place, in most situations. Today, however, this would not be the case.

Sasakibe Chojirou burst into the General's quarters not 5 minutes after he had finished changing into his uniform.

"Yamamoto-soutaichou!" gasped the out-of-breath lieutenant of the 1st division, "It's an emergency!"

* * *

_5 minutes earlier…_

Sasakibe-fukutaichou was walking through the corridors of the first division offices, as the Captain-commander's living quarters were located within the complex in the first division that also contained his private office and the main meeting room using for accommodating the captains of the Gotei 13. It was not uncommon that he should be up this early; preparing to attend to his superior's requests from the moment he awakened. Such attentiveness was not only fitting, but also the duty of a loyal adjutant, he thought.

His philosophical introspection was broken by a loud crash and the appearance of several unknown, but apparently very potent, reiatsu signatures. He spun around and dashed back to the 1st division courtyard that he had just passed.

There he saw, as the dust was clearing 1 individual standing in the forefront, 1 man standing at his side and slightly behind him, and 4 men with spears a few feet behind kneeling on their right side.

He approached them authoritatively, since, judging by their clothing, they were not even shinigami, let alone people that would have clearance to a high-security area such as the soutaichou's living quarters. "You there, who are you and what do you think you're doing here?" he shouted, as the atmosphere was still thundering due to the high reiatsu currents running through them.

The man standing slightly behind the first, who appeared to be an adjutant himself, stepped forward and asked, in an equally authoritative tone that surprised the lieutenant, "Are these premises part of the 1st division?"

"As a matter of fact they are. And they are also a restricted area reserved for high-ranking shinigami only." Sasakibe responded in a rather annoyed and put-off manner.

"That is quite fortunate indeed," replied the man who appeared to be in charge of the group, "seeing as we were seeking an audience with the current Captain-commander of the Gotei 13." The lieutenant turned to regard the man, feeling unnerved by his calm, commanding voice and the unusual and heavy sprit pressure he was radiating. "Who are you, and what makes you think you could see the soutaichou?" he asked in a now mystified and confused manner.

"Rei-ou-sama", he replied simply.

And with that, the lieutenant was off using his fastest shunpo to reach the General's sleeping quarters.

* * *

_Present_

The Commander-General looked at his disheveled adjutant, slightly surprised by the uncharacteristic lack of composure. Sasakibe stood there, panting, for a few moments longer before standing and straightening his posture to its usual perfection. "Yamamoto-taichou!" he said, still slightly out of breath. "There's someone here claiming to be the Rei-Ou!"

The soutaichou stood up abruptly and followed his lieutenant, who was now hurriedly leading the way back to the strange group of people.

'_Reiou? Is that even possible? I will see for myself soon enough, I suppose_.' Yamamoto thought as the two rounded a corner and proceeded down another of Seireitei's expansive and seemingly identical white hallways.

'_I must admit that I'm rather eager to verify this…it would be an honourable and enlightening experience to be allowed to meet the Reiou. Despite being entrusted with the only known copy of the Ou-Ken, even I have never been allowed such a thing in my many years serving as soutaichou.'_

He could tell he was nearing his destination, as the air was permeated by a strange reiatsu, which he couldn't help but notice was fundamentally different than that of a shinigami.

And then he reached his destination.

The scene was exactly as Sasakibe had left it. The guards were kneeling in the rear, the adjutant was standing slightly removed, looking a bit annoyed at having been abandoned so unceremoniously, and the leader was still at the front.

If such a thing were possible, Yamamoto Genryuusai would be wearing a look of utter surprise on his face at that moment. Time froze for him as he observed the appearance of the ethereal being in front of him.

He was wearing a strange type of slipper made of white cloth, with intricate designs etched in gold adorning it, the likes of which the old man had never seen before. His lower legs were covered in golden bands. He was wearing a type of short kimono that ended at his knees. This garment was also white, with gold trim. A strange piece of jewellery hung from his neck, and more bands were wrapped around his forearms and neck. It was when the general's gaze reached the head that he was truly shocked. His hair was white with gold streaks running through it. He was wearing a golden diadem prominently featuring a falcon. This person had ears that, instead of being located in the normal place, sat upon the crown of his head.

This person, it seemed, was no more than a young man, judging by his face, but his eyes belied a wisdom and experience that seemed somehow out of place. Staring into the deep-purple irises of this person instilled within the old man the feeling of falling into an abyssal void, and he felt a piercing sensation of shock upon becoming aware of endless expanse that must be this individual's soul.

The crown, the regal bearing, the look of wisdom, and the strange reiatsu; in the soutaichou's eyes, this man was definitely a ruler of some sort. But was he the Reiou, this he had still to confirm.

"Are you the one who claims to be the Reiou?" queried the anxious, yet perfectly composed, commander.

"Indeed I am", replied the man.

"Do you have any proof?"

"Will this suffice?" The man proceeded to concentrate reiatsu in his left hand until dimensional space was distorted. In the next moment, the man was holding in his hand a strange golden object the likes of which was complex in design as to be beyond the sphere of a mortal to design or craft.

"Ou-Ken?" gasped the stunned soutaichou. "I thought I had the only one."

"You were mistaken. There are many such objects in the royal vaults that are entrusted to the current soutaichou and Reiou, as well as any candidate suitable in the eyes of the Reiou."

"Now then," continued the Reiou, "I'd like you to assemble the captains of the Gotei 13 within the hour."

* * *

**Reiou - spirit king, the highest authority in the soul society**

**Soutaichou, Taichou, Fukutaichou - Captain-commander, Captain, and Lieutenant respectively**

**Seireitei - the Court of Pure Souls, or the city populated by shinigami**

**Gotei 13 - the 13 royal protection squads, or Seireitei's main military force**

**Ou-Ken - the King's Key, a highly protected secret that allows the possessor entrance to the Reiou's palace**


	3. Socializing with the Troops

Disclaimer: See Chapter 2

_Chapter 3: Socializing with the Troops_

"You've got to be kidding me. He looks younger than I am!" exclaimed the 10th squad captain.

"I hafta agree with shorty there," smirked the unmannered 11th squad captain.

"Even so, none of us has any idea what a Reiou should look like, as this is out first opportunity to see one," added the diplomatic 13th squad captain.

"I know I'd like to see what he's made of… on the inside," added the insane 12th division captain.

"That's enough!" shouted Yamamoto, as he brought his cane down with a resonating crash. "Silence yourselves before you commit treason, if you haven't already done so!" he said glaring at Kurotsuchi.

Clearing his throat the room fell silent as the Reiou addressed the 10 captains that had assembled before him. "Regardless of your opinions, the fact remains that I am Reiou. Now, are there any questions before I begin the meeting?"

"Why have you appeared now, when you haven't done so in the past?" inquired Kyoraku Shunsui.

"I have only just replaced the previous Reiou who died of old age. Considering the decimation of all judicial and administrative bodies in Seireitei and Aizen Sosuke's subsequent rebellion, combined with other matters, I have decided to personally oversee events as they unfold."

"And what are those other considerations?" queried Hitsugaya Toushirou.

"That is what I'm going to explain in the meeting about to begin."

"I want to know what kind of help you're planning' on giving' the best fighters in Seireitei. Ain't the royal protection squads supposed to be defendin' you?" asked Zaraki in his usual brusque manner.

"Despite what many of you may think, Reiou is not a title based on succession. The candidates must display certain merits, including leadership and, in my case power. Putting aside my personal assistance, I have a fully garrisoned palace led by captains who are on equal ground with everyone present here. In fact," He said gesturing to the man standing behind him, "Mahad here is actually more powerful in combat than your Commander-General." The room wore a look of disbelief as they regarded the Reiou.

"Anyways, unless there are further questions, I'd like to get this meeting started."

"As you are all aware, Aizen Sosuke, Tousen Kaname, and Ichimaru Gin formerly of the Gotei 13 have stolen an artifact known as the Hougyoku and fled to Hueco Mundo. They currently have a standing army of thousands of hollows. Despite this, the only ones we need to concern ourselves with as threats are the 10 at the top that have displayed abilities far beyond the other arrancanar. Personally, I think that Seireitei, combined with my own forces, far overpowers this enemy force. What I believe the real threat to be is the Hougyoku. Such fel artifacts were never meant to be possessed by mortal hands. Only a few mortals could handle this object without repercussion and Aizen Sosuke is certainly not one of them. He believes that it is completely under his control, and, in terms of the functions for which he employs its use, he is correct. It is however, subtly changing at its core, and will become unstable in due time. It is for that event that I am prepared to lend my full assistance. I am convinced that its consequences will be far-reaching and beyond the Gotei 13's ability to counter by itself. Any questions?"

The room was basked in an aura of seriousness (or excitedness in Zaraki's case), and, in general was somewhat surprised by the nature of the Hougyoku, which had more or less remained a mystery to them. Regaining his composure first, Ukitake asked the question that was on everyone's mind, "When do you expect this to happen?"

"That depends largely on the wielder, but I am sure that it will be soon. My sources tell me that the Hougyoku will awaken soon, and the influence the wielder has over it will increase dramatically at that point. It will probably only be a matter of weeks after the awakening that the Hougyoku becomes completely instable."

Yamamoto joined in, "our sources indicated that the awakening will occur sometime this winter, coinciding with his plan to forge his own Ou-Ken."

"Why ever would he want to do that?" responded the puzzled Reiou.

"We're pretty sure that he wants to assassinate you," the 9th division captain.

"Souka," said the Reiou with a grimace on his face, "somehow I'm not too worried."

"Well, I'll be taking my leave now."

He began walking down the length of the room to where the door was.

"As you know, you four are to remain here under the direct command of Yamamoto-soutaichou and act as liaisons with the palace."

The four kneeling at the rear of the room bowed even more deeply, if such a thing was possible, and shouted in unison, "As you command, sire!"

With that, the Reiou turned and continued to walk to the door. As Mahad opened it for him, he thought with an unusual upturn to his lips, '_Well, now that that's out of the way, I can pursue my main objective_."


	4. Hidden Objectives

Disclaimer: same as always, I deny making claims to owning any original copyrighted material.

* * *

_Chapter 4: Hidden Objectives_

Day was breaking, and all the inhabitants of the town of Karakura were still fast asleep, including the birds resting on the telephone lines. A moment later, however, they were rudely awakened and sent scattering by an unusual figure who had decided to spend the early hours of the morning jumping from roof to roof. It was not unusual for the Reiou to be awake and actively attending to certain matters as early as dawn, but it was unusual for him to do so completely devoid of an entourage or attendants and while wearing a full body black cloak and hood. He had, however, been quite clear that he wished to attend to these matters by himself so as to be inconspicuous and efficient in dealing with them. Ever since he had left that Captain's meeting, he had begun the necessary preparations for his planned departure that night. Mere moments after arriving in the world of the living, he had sensed _that _reiatsu signature. '_It's strange how they're all so different based on their personalities, and yet their reiatsu is so similar. This one too is almost identical. Well Hanaou-dono, let's see who this new vessel of power is that you've had such trouble locating.'_

* * *

Inoue Orihime woke up at a regular time that day, and began preparing for school in her usual way. She washed and dressed herself, ate her somewhat questionable breakfast, then gathered her school things and left the apartment of which she was the sole inhabitant. She waved to her neighbors as she left, as she did every day when she saw them. On the way to the school, however, she stopped and checked behind her shoulder.

'_Something doesn't seem right'_

Inoue Orihime, despite some outward appearances, was actually a very smart girl and would've picked up on any strange reiatsu or murderous intent in her vicinity. There were, however, no such obvious indications of trouble. This feeling was a very subtle thing; it was a small inconsistency in the fabric of destiny leading to a type of knowledge only describable as intuition. Intuition, however, does not lend itself to credibility and is not tantamount to proof, or, at least, it wasn't in her mind.

'_I just got back from Soul Society after dealing with that whole Bount incident. I probably just still on edge.'_

She turned back around and looked at her watch.

'_Ah! While I've been spacing out, classes are about to begin. Have to hurry!'_

And with that she resumed her journey to the school, although this time she was sprinting rather than walking.

* * *

'_Hmmmm.. For a moment there I thought she would confront me. She has rather keen instincts for a pure-blooded human, likely born from an empathic soul and honed by exposure to tragedy and sorrow. At first I merely saw an ordinary young woman. An item as fickle as the one she possesses must require some extraordinary traits from its wielder, however. That's common sense. Regardless, from now on I will prioritize her safety as well as information gathering. There's no telling in what ways she will become useful.' _These were the thoughts running through the mind of the Reiou as he reclined against the tree he had frozen in as soon as she stopped.

He had been following her, his objective, since she left her house, and now continued to do so as she resumed motion. Several minutes later, he arrived at a gate that had just been entered by his target.

'_This must be that "school" place she was talking about with that old woman.' _He looked in the window of the nearby building from his vantage point on the tree located just outside the grounds. '_It appears to be some sort of academy. Well, it's been awhile since I've had occasion to initiate a mission of infiltration. I'll have to find the governor of this institution and "convince" him to accept me as a member'. _He felt the folds of his robe to ensure he still possessed a certain item. '_Luckily, I came prepared to blend into a crowd of humans.'_

* * *

"Ichigoooooooo!" was the sound that could be heard coming from the hyperactive idiot of the class, Asano Keigo, as he rushed towards his friends. The next sound that was heard was the impact of Keigo's face with someone's foot.

"Quiet down, idiot," was the reply Keigo received from his close friend Kurosaki Ichigo. Keigo then tried to collect whatever dignity and poise he possessed and attempted to tell his best friends, Ichigo, Mizuiro, and Chad, the exciting news he had just discovered.

"Have you guys heard? We're getting an exchange student today!" blurted the excitable boy, unable to keep the secret to himself any longer.

"And how did you find that out, Asano-san?" asked Mizuiro, not looking up from his book.

While Keigo expression turned to its usual look of terror that occurred whenever his friends spoke to him with polite speech, Ichigo spoke up, "just ignore him. The idiot's probably just was looking for attention."

At that comment, Keigo switched to an indignant posture and exclaimed, " how dare you accuse me of something like that?! I'll have you know that I overheard the principal discussing it as I was coming to class."

Ichigo was about to ask him what he was doing eavesdropping when their instructor entered the room. "Good morning, class."

"Good morning, sensei," replied some of the students.

"We have a new member joining us today, an exchange student in fact." With that statement, the three boys looked at Keigo, who looked quite smug at the moment. "Please come in, young man." The class fell silent as they awaited their new classmate.

What they saw next shocked everybody, including the stoic Ishida Uryuu. The boy that entered was average height with a thin build. He wore the normal school uniform with the addition of a strange looking pendant hanging around his neck. His hair was jet black and extended nearly to his waist. What surprised most people, however, was the unusual colour of his eyes. They were an eerie shade of grey, seemingly devoid of life; somber and serious, and displaying a certain level of understanding or perhaps depth to his character, they impressed everyone present. "You may call me Kemeto-san," was all he said.

At this point, many of the females in the class had starry-eyed, glazed expressions on their faces. Some were even unconsciously drooling over the exotic and mysterious type of attractiveness possessed by the young man.

The teacher, on the other hand, was thrown off by his lack of enthusiasm and bluntness. Trying to get herself back in an appropriate frame of mind, she cleared her throat and turned to him, "Kemeto-kun, if you would take your seat now, please." She turned and looked at the room, "I see that there's a spot open next to Kurosaki-kun. Kurosaki-kun, if you could raise your hand, please."

The new boy called Kemeto proceeded to walk to his seat. If anyone who had been looking at him had noticed his discreet glance in Orihime's direction, they didn't show it. They were in fact too bust observing him in other ways. Chad, Uryuu, and Ichigo were all observing the new kid intently, as they all felt something somewhat out of place. There was nothing blatantly obvious in his reiatsu, but feeling it all left them with a nagging feeling in the back of their minds. They all independently yet simultaneously decided to drop the issue for now and focus on the lesson.

So he sat there, slightly intrigued but mostly bored, listening to very little of what the instructor was actually saying. Instead, the Reiou wondered to himself how many days he would end up doing this.


	5. Pushed too far

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

* * *

_Chapter 5: Pushed Too Far_

Three months had passed since the exchange student had come to Karakura High School. He still arrived at the same time everyday, wearing the same clothes and the same pendant. He still had a strange hair colour and piercing, unknowable eyes. He maintained average grades, had a neutral disposition, was courteous but not sycophantic towards his instructors; in other words, he acted just enough in the school environment to fit in yet go generally unnoticed or ignored. The smitten girls harassed him in a routine way that he dealt with in a similar manner; so as to not discourage them to stop, yet not encourage them to be bolder either. He met any jealousy he received from his male classmates with an attitude that was magnanimous and showed understanding, so as to leave his male comrades confused about their relationship with him. He would be approachable enough to invite amicability, yet remained distant enough so that nobody would miss him or think about him greatly if he vanished one day, which was, of course, his intention from the beginning. In short, he acted perfectly as a spy, in such a way that no rational person would have reason or desire to cause him any problems.

There was, however, a decidedly irrational and chaotic member of the class, Asano Keigo, who was not affected by Kemeto-san's actions, and remained internally hostile and distrustful of him. One day, some three months after his arrival, he finally decided to do something about it.

* * *

It was lunchtime and he was sitting on the roof with his friends, eating, when he decided to bring it up. 

"Hey guys, have you noticed how that Kemeto annoys everyone?"

"What's your problem Keigo, the guy's never done anything bad to anyone," replied Ichigo.

"As odd as this sounds, I agree with Kurosaki. I can't say that I like him, but his manners are impeccable," added Ishida Uryuu.

"Besides, I thought that annoying people was your job, Asano-san," finished Mizuiro. Chad remained silent as always.

Keigo looked as if he was on the verge of tears, but he held them back. "And here I thought we were friends who supported each other. Well I'm going ahead with my plan anyways."

"Your plan for what, Asano-san?"

"Revenge, of course!"

"And what are you planning on taking revenge for?" inquired a very bored Ichigo.

"Isn't it obvious?! Look at how strangely the girls are all acting around him. And I swear I've seen him taking quick glances at my Orihime!" responded a now very riled up Keigo.

"It sounds to me like you're just jealous Asano-san," replied Mizuiro.

"Since when is she your Orihime anyways?" added Ichigo.

"I've seen those looks he gives people, and they show much more good taste and etiquette than your brazen leering," finished Uryuu. Chad just nodded.

At this point he was expecting a response like this, so he ignored it and continued. "My plan is the confront him after school. I'll rough him up a little, he'll back down, and then I'll have all the girls to myself once again. What do you think, guys? He doesn't look very tough at all, does he?" Keigo then started laughing out loud, completely pleased with what he assumed to be brilliant planning.

Chad, Ichigo, and Uryuu, however, all stopped listening to him after he had talked about confrontation. The three looked at each other; their understanding and anxiety was passed wordlessly between them. While none of them could detect any palpable threat, they sensed something amiss, and all knew better than to cast stones at what could turn out to be a hornet's nest. Ichigo was the first to express his feelings to Keigo.

"You know, Keigo, I don't think that's such a good plan."

"Nonsense, Ichigo. Just watch. Everything will turn out fine."

The three of them looked at each other again. _'This is bad,' _they thought simultaneously, _' he clearly won't be dissuaded'_.

* * *

"Hey Kemeto-chan!" yelled Keigo, already adjusting his attitude from its usual comical state to a more aggressive one. 

The Reiou heard this, of course, but continued walking.

"Hey, I'm talking to you little man!" he yelled again. The Reiou, however, kept striding at his brisk place, eager to return to his resting spot after another tiresome day.

At this time, Keigo was still following his classmate, unwilling to give up, and his pursuit had already taken him outside the school grounds and its perimeter, where he had hoped to confront him. There were no other students now, and precious few others on the abandoned path near the river they were currently walking. This, however, didn't cross the young boy's mind, who had long since forgotten the part of the plan that involved humiliating him in front of a crowd. At the moment, all he could think about was how angry he was at the callous individual who had been ignoring him. Unable to take it any longer, Keigo started sprinting and cut off the other man, who stopped accordingly.

"Listen you, you and me have a problem."

No response.

Grabbing the Reiou's collar he yelled, "What do you think you're doing, ignoring me?"

"Remove your hands from my clothing, now," spoke the Reiou in an altogether calm yet threatening tone that went, for the most part, unnoticed by Keigo.

"Why don't you make me, cowar…" Before he could finish his sentence, time froze for Asano Keigo.

The Reiou punched the boy in the chest, shattering several ribs. He then knocked the boy out with a blow to the back of his head, which he delivered as he started walking around the boy. Still unaware of what was happening, the Reiou delivered his last blow to the boy's back, causing him to him the ground with a loud resonant sound. He continued on his way.

The Reiou stopped and looked back at his handiwork. The last blow had left a small crater in the earth that his body was now laying in. Blood was pooling there, albeit in much smaller quantities than he had expected. The boy's intercostals were damaged, but he was surprised that the blows had not ruptured his heart or lungs, nor even given him a concussion.

'_Maybe it was pity…no matter. Even if he does revive and heal, the experience will only leave him humbled. And if he uses this to cause problems, I'll just wipe his memory.'_ The Reiou contemplated these things as he walked towards his chosen resting place, completely at ease with what had just transpired.

Keigo's last thoughts before losing consciousness were, '_What just happened?'_


	6. A Difference in Level

Sorry for the late update to anyone who cares. Genius and perfection take time to materialize in writing, however. Also I was busy with other things. Feel encouraged to review if you feel like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach

* * *

_Chapter 6: A Difference in Level_

Ichigo, Chad, and Mizuiro were walking home along their usual riverside route. They noticed something lying on the ground ahead of them and regarded it with interest. As they approached, however, their looks of curiosity gradually changed to expressions of horror as they realized that it was their dear friend Keigo lying in a pool of his own blood. The three of them rushed quickly to his side.

Mizuiro was calling out Keigo's name, notably dropping the honorific out of concern, and running towards him as fast as he could manage. Ichigo and Chad, however, while concerned, ran more moderately and cautiously, both being suspicious of what had happened.

Upon arriving at his friend's body, Ichigo drew upon the medical knowledge he had gleaned from his otherwise useless father and began examining Keigo. To say the least, he was shocked at the extent of the damage, which were not the sort of injuries one would usually receive from an unarmed man. '_This isn't good. He has several fractures, his breathing's irregular, his pulse is weak and he shows signs of arrhythmia.'_ Turning to the other two, he said, "Chad, Mizuiro, take Keigo to my father's clinic. He won't have the equipment needed to deal with some of these wounds, but at least he'll be able to perform some first aid and call for an ambulance to take him to the main hospital."

Ichigo was about to stand up when Keigo opened his eyes and began moving his lips. His voice was very faint, but Ichigo could hear him saying something that sounded like "Kemeto", which more or less confirmed his suspicions. As Keigo lapsed into unconsciousness, Ichigo started running after his assailant.

* * *

"Kemeto!" 

The Reiou continued walking despite the fact that someone yelling his name was running up behind him. He did not stop until the person in question ran ahead of him and blocked his path.

"Are you the one who did that to Keigo?" asked Ichigo, getting straight to the issue.

"Yes." This was his reply. The calmness and nonchalance of the other man's voice were stating to annoy Ichigo.

"Why would you do something like that?"

"He was in my way, much like you are now."

"That's your reason? Well, I'd love to see you do the same to me."

"So be it."

The man then disappeared from Ichigo's sight. '_Shunpo! Impossible.' _Nevertheless, Ichigo followed his instincts and jumped out of the way. As he had feared, Kemeto was standing at the place he had just moved from.

As he landed, he addressed the other man. "You bastard. How is it that you can flash-step?"

The other man replied, "I wouldn't think that such a simple display of reiatsu manipulation would impress the 'great hero' that invaded the Seireitei and defeated the Bount."

"How do you know about that? Who are you?"

"I have no reason to answer you."

The Reiou, now past Ichigo, continued to walk along his path. Ichigo, however, was not satisfied to let things end like this. He pulled out his shinigami badge and placed it to his chest, ejecting his soul.

"You're not leaving here until you give me some answers."

"If you force my hand now, you'll regret it later."

"SHUT UP! I've had enough of your bullshit!" Ichigo pulled back Zangetsu and charged Kemeto.

'_Look at that idiot; he's not even dodging it. I'm going to end this with one blow,' _thought Ichigo.

The sword was about to collide with the unarmed man. Ichigo already thought he had won, but…

Clink

The sound of metal bouncing off a hard surface. Ichigo looked at the tip of his blade and saw it touching the bare, unwounded forearm of the man in front of him.

"Is that really all the reiatsu you can focus, even while avenging your friend? If so then this duel is already over."

Kemeto pulled his right hand back and it started to glow with the concentration of reiatsu.

'_What's happening,' _wondered Ichigo, as he saw the aura rearrange itself into a form resembling a claw. '_Shit!'_ He stared moving away but it was too late.

"Heaven's Sunder!"

The claw-like light extended and collided with Zangetsu, forcing him backwards. He slowed down to a halt and looked down at his sword. Small cracks were forming along the point of impact.

"If that's all the power you have then this won't be very interesting."

"I've had enough of you, it's time to get serious!"

"Oh? What do you plan on doing?"

"This!" yelled Ichigo as he grasped his right arm, "Bankai!"

* * *

Inoue Orihime had been having an ominous feeling all day. Even before she had come across the blood stains on the ground while she was walking home. Ever since school had been let out, she knew something was wrong. That was the reason she had left the sewing club meeting early, after all. If she was at home she could phone her friends and make sure they were safe (except, of course, Ishida, who was still at the club meeting). 

But then she had come across these ominous discolorations on the ground that looked like blood stains. This, of course, did nothing to ease her now frantic mind. The girl desperately hoped that her prized "Woman's Intuition" was wrong for once.

This hope was shattered the moment she felt Ichigo's reiatsu rise to a very high level. Quite excessive compared to what he would normally use when fighting ordinary hollows. In fact, she had not felt a similar intensity since his duels with Byakuya and Kariya. She hurried toward Ichigo as fast as she could.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ichigo was having some trouble making his earlier threats and promises come to fruition. He was using his speed, which was normally much greater than his opponents', and attacking with all the force his power would allow, but regardless of his efforts the other man was effortlessly blocking all the attacks, without using anything but his bare hands. 

'_Time to try something else,'_ thought Ichigo. He attacked several more times until he could position himself for a good shot. Then, when the timing was right…

"Getsuga Tenshou!"

The black arc closed in on his opponent, but…

Ichigo stared on in disbelief as the man once again deflected his attack with his fists. '_Wait a minute,' _thought Ichigo, '_something's different. What was that golden arc that cut my attack in half? And why is his right arm extended? I've got it! He had to use that special technique, what was it called…oh yeah, Heaven's Sunder. Before he was using his forearms or his left hand.'_

"Getting scared over there, Kemeto?"

"Why would you suggest such a thing when I am unharmed?"

"You weren't using that glowing hand of yours before. Since I forced you to use it, that must mean you didn't think you could handle that last attack, am I right?"

Kemeto was silent for a few moments before smirking. "And what would you have done if I had let that attack connect and scratch my body, or tear my clothing a little? Would you have celebrated your victory while I was standing in front of you? I've already demonstrated that one attack is all you can handle, even while I'm restraining myself. I will prove something irrefutable to you today, something that I had shown your friend, and something that he now understands better than you. Between the two of us, there is a difference in level. At the ceiling to your power there is still a great distance before you could reach the floor that I'm standing on. Now, let me ingrain this fact into your reasoning!"

Before Ichigo had a chance to respond, the Reiou was already thrusting at his chest. He leaped back, while the Reiou did the same. The Reiou extended his fingers and brought them down to point at Ichigo.

"Heaven's Lashing."

The light that was drifting and clinging hazily around his hand suddenly became more concrete and solid, and began surging forward in a straight line from his index finger towards Ichigo. Ichigo, of course, had time to dodge, since he still had the use of his bankai and taking into account that the two of them were a moderate distance apart. After he had moved, however, his opponent swung his arm and the whip followed. The fluid curve suggested to the young man that this light followed a path much like an actual whip would, and that its movements followed his opponent's will.

Knowing this was all well and good, but as the Reiou started flash-stepping around the arena of combat, altering the direction of attack and the direction of rotation, Ichigo found himself having an increasingly difficult time predicting how the light was going to move. He eventually ended up taking several hits, but he seemed to be able to dodge them or take them with little damage to his body. Certainly, he concluded, the reiatsu was less concentrated than it was in his first type of attack.

After receiving several consecutive attacks, however, he had lost sight of the actual person who was attacking him. Turning around frantically, he began searching, but he was already too late. Four more strands of light extended from the Reiou's remaining digits and wound themselves around his young opponent's four limbs, immobilizing him. As they wound tighter, Ichigo lost his grip and dropped Zangetsu. As the sword hit the ground and Ichigo fell from bankai, the Reiou announced, "It's over."

Ichigo closed his eyes and prepared for the blow the other man was directing at his heart.

"Yamete kudasai!"

The Reiou halted his attack, his outthrust hand just short of touching his opponent's body. Ichigo opened his eyes in surprise. Both turned to look at the source of the loud interruption.

They saw a panting, out-of-breath Inoue Orihime clutching her sides and collapsed to her knees from exhaustion. She looked up, directing her gaze at her classmate Kemeto.

"I don't know why you're doing this, but please don't hurt Kurosaki-kun!" she extolled of him.

The Reiou stopped and considered this, and sighed. He withdrew his hand, backed up from his thrusting stance into a regular standing position, and withdrew the threads of light, allowing Ichigo to collapse to the ground.

"As you wish, Ore no Hime."

And with a flash of light, he was gone.


	7. Reasons I

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach**

**Thank you to those people who have read and/or reviewed this work. For the record I'm planning to cut some segments and publish them as seperate stories at a later date to make the plot for this story flow faster. For those who are stupid like Ichigo and don't know what reiraku are or how they work, go watch episode 9 or whatever it is and Ishida will explain them to you.**

* * *

_Chapter 7: Reasons I _

The Reiou sat in the tree outside of Orihime's residence, as he had done every day for the last three months. He had kept his presence well hidden from any visual or reiraku-based detection, yet he did not bother today. Knowing that it was the last time he would be here filled him with some strange emotion, something that he considered similar to nostalgia or material loss. He could have merely left, now that the pretense of his identity as Kemeto-kun, a transfer student currently attending Karakura high school, was shattered by the actions he had taken earlier that day. For some reason, however, he had decided to spend one last night here, so as to have the chance to talk to Orihime. _'Taking into account the situation, as well as her position, it will probably be beneficial to me to explain a few things to her. Time to wait for the princess to return, I suppose.'_

And he reclined, as to suffer the long wait for her return, and meditate upon his words.

* * *

It was already dark out when Orihime was finally returning to her house. After getting help for Ichigo and riding with him to the hospital in an ambulance, she had meet up with a concerned pair in the waiting room: her classmates Chad and Mizuiro. The were concerned if not shocked at Ichigo's condition, and proceeded to inform her of the similar situation that had also put Keigo here in the hospital. The three of them visited Ichigo and Keigo, who were both sleeping, and, after ensuring their friends' medical stability and personal safety, left the hospital for their homes. 

While she was walking home, Orihime had time to think about all the things she was too frantic to be concerned with before. The unforeseen, violent nature of her normally quiet classmate had shocked her, and she was very confused about the whole situation.

As she approached her home, however, she began to notice a familiar reiatsu, one that she had felt earlier that day. She began walking more determinedly, eventually breaking into running, towards her home, knowing that things would be made much clearer to her once she arrived, one way or another.

* * *

He continued to wait, at peace now that he had made up his mind. _'And not a moment too soon.'_

"I'm not accustomed to letting people who attack my friends rest on my property, you know."

He turned to regard the girl standing in front of the second story window.

"Of course you're not, my princess, yet I think you'll be quite pleased to hear what I have to say regardless. Or if not pleased, at least enlightened."

This is, of course, was what she had been expecting.

"All right. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Meet me on the roof. This is not how I wish to deliver this important information to you."

* * *

They were both sitting, side by side, Orihime as close as she cared to be, yet close enough to be in range of hearing. Kemeto stared dreamily at the stars. 

"First of all, I'm not a classmate of yours, I'm the spirit king, master of soul society."

She hadn't been expecting this, and it showed.

"…which should let you understand how it was that I so handily defeated someone you admire as a fighter."

Well that was one of the questions answered.

"Secondly, I'm here with regards to you. In other words, at least in these circumstances you're more important to me than any other human. Therefore I decided to heed you're words and restrain myself from dealing a final blow."

"But why did you attack Ichigo in the first place?" asked Orihime, her anger being slowly replaced by even more confusion.

"He attacked me actually. I'd probably be more content now if that fight had never happened. The events that led up to his challenging attitude," he sighed deeply and inhaled, " were exactly the same as the confrontation I had with Ichigo."

"I don't understand."

"In both cases, it was the arrogance and willfulness of humans that led those two to ruin, as it does for so many. While it is human nature to feel these things, I sometimes wonder why they can't keep it in check."

He turned to look at her.

"Regardless, what you must understand is that they forced my hand. Please do not think badly of me because of what happened, for I regret it now as much as you do."

Orihime didn't know what to say. He wasn't at all like she imagined. She couldn't hate anybody, it wasn't in her nature, yet the feeling of enmity she had harbored towards him moments earlier had now faded. Unsure of how to proceed, she decided to treat him like a stranger and donned her usual cheerful demeanor.

"So…I guess since you're not really Kemeto-kun I can't call you that any more. What should I call you then?"

"Reiou or Tono-sama will suffice for now."

"Reiou-sama, huh, that must be an interesting job."

"Indeed it is, now that I've met you."

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"The reason I came here was with regards to you. You're power will soon mean many things to many different people, myself included. I wish to ensure that the wrong people aren't closing in on your acquisition faster than I am."

She looked downwards, obviously upset.

"Please don't misunderstand me. I don't mean to refer to you as an object, yet I imagine it would be difficult for anyone who hasn't gotten to know you as a person to seek your power and not view you as an object."

His voice became solemn and quieter.

"I didn't want to be like that. That's one of the reasons I'm here."

She turned to look at him. He reciprocated the action.

"Regardless of my intentions, I cannot stay here now. After tonight, I'm going to have to leave for my palace."

"I can't really picture you as a friend yet, too many things have just happened. But for some reason I'm sad to see you leave so soon after I've started getting to know you," the young girl replied sullenly.

"Don't worry, this separation will not last long."

He stood up and motioned her to do the same. He proceeded to lead her to her bedroom.

"Certain events will conspire to see us united again soon, and you will be able to ask of me any questions you still wish answered. For now just sleep," he said, as she got ready for bed.

He returned to his tree and reclined.

'_And let me watch over you, Ore no Hime."__

* * *

_

**To whom it may concern:**

**Sorry about the long break since my last post. I don't really have an excuse, but I'm currently working on the next chapter, which is already longer than any of my previous chapters. I really thought that this chapter was too short and a little bit terse, so I am writing the next chapter as a direct continuation of this one. It's basically the opposite approach to this chapter and I'm quite pleased with the result so far. Hopefully, it will be up tomorrow.**


	8. Reflections I

**Disclaimer: I do not own any non-original characters. I do own original characters. **

**Sorry for anyone who was waiting. This is a little delayed, but I'm quite pleased with it. I know I'm not very reliable with updates and that they tend to be sporadic. However, this story is far from over, as is my writing in general. I'll finish this if it takes me 25 more years, so keep checking in and I'll try to keep you posted.**

**By that way, italics are things that go on in people's heads, including dreams and thinking.**

* * *

_Chapter 8: Reflections I_

_"Why?………"_

He was not tired. Instead, all of his extraordinary energy was used towards being confused. And concerned. Concerned with his own actions.

_"Why am I so charitable to her? I am usually very reserved and distant when associating with humans. The number of humans that I respect and trust is very small, and I don't trust new people easily. Why then is it that I've confided in this girl so much? I have watched her for almost the entire day on every day for the last three months. I granted her wish for her friend to live when I would usually finish him off. I felt obligated to put her mind at ease about the events of this afternoon. Individually, I justified each action before taking it. I followed her for her protection and to make sure no other party was closer to her than I was at that time. I saved her friend because I did not want her to begrudge me, and I explained my motives and feelings to her so that she would be more agreeable with me and my plans. Looking back, however, at my actions as a whole, it seems unsettling. At first glance this behavior would certainly appear to be friendship. Certainly, I wish her to be my ally, but to go as far as being her friend? This has never happened to me prior to my situation with her. I see diplomats, subordinates, ambassadors, and the rulers of other lands on a daily basis, but I'm always formal and practical in my dealings with allies. There's something strange about her…I feel comfortable around her, rather than repulsed, disgusted, distrustful, or hostile, which would be my normal reactions to meeting a strange human. How does she feel, I wonder? From what I can judge, she considers me an ally at best, or perhaps saying an enemy with a tentative peace treaty. Certainly not friendship. I shall continue acting as I have around her until I depart, then consider this matter and my course of action more fully during our separation." _

He looked at the stars and moon, which was almost completely obscured by shadow.

_"I have called her my princess several times now. At first I thought it was rather clever, considering my recent acquisition of this language. Now… I feel like I may believe that it's true. That she is mine in some way. I suppose I may have become a little possessive during these three months of closeness." _

He sighed and let his head fall on his chest.

_"This analysis is really tiring me out…perhaps I'd better sleep on this…"_

* * *

I_ am in the park near my house, the one Sora used to take me to after school when I was little. It looks like I'm the same age I was then. There is a lot of sand around me, and I realize I'm sitting in a sandbox. I look to my left and my face has an expression of joy! My most favorite Mega-Robo-Dinosaur Samurai-Policeman action figure with Real Eye Laser Action was right there. I used to love playing with that. I reach down to pick it up, when suddenly it's gone! I look up and see a big white dog with sharp teeth. And in those teeth was my toy! "Give it back!" I yell, but the dog looks mean and starts gnawing on it. "Stop that!" I yell again and start running towards the dog, but it's too fast and soon disappears from my sight. I stop chasing it, fall to the ground, and start crying, _

_It's starting to get dark now, and I was very sad while I spent the rest of my time at what was usually such a fun place. It doesn't look like Sora is coming to pick me up today, so I start walking back, afraid to stay here with the impending darkness. I get to the last crosswalk before I reach my house. The walk signal turns on. I look right, left, ahead, and behind me, just like Sora taught me. There are no cars in sight. In fact, there were no people either. The entire neighborhood was completely silent. I was starting to creep myself out with this kind of thinking, so I starting walking across the street quickly. Out of nowhere, a giant truck starts coming at me, honking its horn. I froze. I scream, waiting for impact and my death…and then I am lying on the sidewalk on the other side of the street. I am a little sore, and when I check I see that my knee is bruised, but other than that I am fine. What happened, how am I safe? _

_I stood up and started looking around. And then I saw it, and my hands flew to my mouth in horror. That dog from before, the mean one that had stolen my toy, was lying in a pool of its own blood in the middle of the road. I quickly run and pull on it, but it was much heavier than I expected. I notice many small pieces of what appears to be my favorite toy lying on the ground around its body. Still, I struggle and, eventually, I manage to drag it back to the sidewalk next to my house. I was exhausted and gasping for air after such a tough struggle, but I looked down at the dog to see how it was doing. I grew sad after seeing the look in its eyes. It was like they were saying to me, "I'm sorry I took your toy, I felt bad about it and wanted to return it to you, but I saw that car coming towards you and had to do something. More than my own health, I'm worried that you will hate me for wrecking you precious toy in the collision". I started crying and fell to my knees, hugging him, probably harder than I should be doing, around his neck. To my surprise, I feel his long tongue weakly licking my cheek. _

Orihime awoke abruptly, panting. She immediately looked out the window and saw the Reiou sleeping peacefully on the tree branch outside her window.

"…What a weird dream. I wonder why my first reaction was thinking that Reiou-sama was in trouble," she said, scratching her head.

"Oh well," she said brightly, already over what to her was just one of the many, many odd and nonsensical dreams she was used to having, "he said I'd be busy tomorrow, even if its Saturday, so I'd better get back to sleep." She lied down peacefully, closed her eyes, and drifted off once more into the magical fantasy world of her dreams.

* * *

_He was hot…sweltering. He never remembered being in a desert this hot. He didn't think they existed. He didn't think they ought to exist. Yet here he was, inexplicably in the middle and a dune-ridden, endless desert. He didn't know why he was here and he didn't know where he was going, but he knew this place was unnaturally hot. _

_"Why am I here?" _

_"What could have compelled me to be out in this unbearable desert?" _

_"Wait a minute, regardless of the circumstances, I should be used to this. I've lived in deserts since I was 3 years old. I know the heat of noon that makes you delirious, and the frigidness of midnight that makes you yearn for the dawn. Then the dawn arrives and you wish for dusk. So why do I feel so out of place here?" _

_Looking up in the sky I realize that there is no sun. "What in the Red Land is causing this overwhelming heat then?" The sky is hazier than normal, as if the clouds and air were themselves suffering under the heat. _

_I look down at my bare feet and realize they are burning. They already are blackening, and my outer layer of skin is peeling off. It is excruciating, yet not the worst pain I've ever felt. Much like the sky, the ground appeared hazy as well, as if the sand had liquefied._

_My arm starts hurting and I pull up my robe to look at it. To my surprise, my skin is melting. I throw off my clothing, and to my dismay my entire body is burning the same way. This incessant heat is cooking my bones, burning my skin to ashes and causing me more pain than I would feel if I was skinned alive, or stabbed a thousand times over. I prepare myself for the molten death that awaits me… _

_Suddenly, the pain is gone. I feel an ethereal pair of arms wrapping around my chest. I turn my head around and see a vision of blue. An apparition appearing to me as a winged woman with no visible features, just a blurry blue entity, was wrapping her arms around me and dispelling the heat. I look at the sky as well, and it too is blue and calm, no longer hazy. I look at the ground and it is solid and cool. It is not uniform like the sand, but rather distinctive, strewn with designs made by plants and water currents. _

_There is water all around me, pouring down from above, moving past me, hitting the floor and creating currents that push at me from all directions. Truly, I revel in this coolness. It is as if I had been taken from the nightmarishly hot and barren landscape and plunged in the depths of the ocean. I feel calm again, and at peace. I look up at the non-distinct face of the one who had saved me and I feel the coolness of the ocean wash over me anew as I do so. Grateful, and at peace, I turn around, and sincerely return the compassionate embrace the mysterious creature was giving me._

He awoke abruptly, not feeling very relaxed despite having just taken a short nap.

"Well that was certainly interesting."

He felt compelled to check on Orihime, but when he looked through her window, he saw that she was sleeping soundly in her bed.

"That's also quite intriguing…"

* * *

It was a beautiful day following that night, with a bright sky that belied the tenseness of the two individuals as they walked together. The Reiou had asked Orihime to accompany him to his chosen place of departure, an empty field next to the river. Young children often came here to play soccer on the area that was set up with goal posts after school and on weekends, but it was early enough that the place remained deserted. 

Orihime was somewhat reluctant to go off alone with a strange person, but she was curious and, more than that did not wish to start another fight, especially after last night.

Unbeknownst to either of the two, both were quite pensive and alarmed by their respective dreams the previous night. This led them to their current situation. Both were stealing glances as surreptitiously as possible as they walked. Their posture was quite rigid and they tended not to look at one another, the Reiou's eyes being directed straight ahead and Orihime's at the ground.

They slowed to a stop at a point in the large field. Orihime looked up, and then at her surrounding. As far as she could see, there was nothing here for which visiting was worthwhile.

He decided it was time to break the ice. Turning to look at her, he said, "I think it's time that we spoke. You've been uncharacteristically silent during our journey, and have been acting suspiciously. What's the matter?"

Caught off guard, she was at first internally indignant.

"_What does he mean I've been acting suspiciously? If anyone's been acting weird its him! Oh well, I'd better come clean."_

"I had a dream last night that was really strange, but what really made me anxious to be around you was that my first reaction was to associate the dream with you in some way."

He barely managed to suppress his emotions from reaching his face. "What a coincidence. Truth be told, I also had a rare dream last night which reminded me of you in some inexplicable way."

They were both looking at each other in a way that should have seemed awkward for both of them. After what seemed like minutes to the two of them, but was actually only a couple of seconds, they seemed to snap out of their dazes and turn away from each other.

"_What's this feeling I'm having?" _she thought as a slight blush rose to her face.

"_How foolish of me. Yet the dream that is supposed to be a mirror is acting more like a piece of glass. What resonance must our souls be having?" _he thought, his face more grim than usual.

"Well it's time for my departure." He held out his hand, the air around which started glowing and distorting. A loud pop was heard and then he was holding a long golden object.

"Is that…"

"Yes, a King's Key. With this I can bridge the distance to my palace from any location."

He thrust the key forward into mid-air and twisted it clockwise. From the empty air, a giant gate, easily five times as tall as he was, materialized in front of the two. It too was golden and ornately decorated, as would be fitting of royalty.

He turned around to look at her. "It's time for me to leave. The reason I brought you here was not mainly to say goodbye, but rather so that you could meet someone. I am bringing in another person to replace me, and I'd like you two to meet each other face to face for the first time."

He turned away from her once more. "This is not farewell, so remember that we shall meet again." His hand lifted towards the sky, and he waved to her without turn around. He placed his other hand on the door and pushed, causing the massive gate to swing open.

His blue cloak blowing in the wind was the last she saw of him before he vanished into the portal. She felt many things but was mostly sad. She missed him for some reason.

She did not have time to ponder this, however, as a second later, someone reappeared from the door.

It was a man. Or at least she thought it was, because normally men don't grow that tall. Then again, she met some actual giants in Soul Society, so she knew it was possible. After the shock of seeing someone over seven feet tall passed, she noticed that he was not wearing a shirt. He was heavily muscled, and she could see several weapons of varying types strapped to different parts of his body.

Her appraisal was cut short as he rapidly closed the distance between them. He looked down at her, her timid face looking up at his stern one.

"Greetings, Orihime-sama. I am Karim."


	9. Hesitance

**Disclaimer: If I did own Bleach, the plot would follow this story, so... yeah I don't own it**

* * *

Chapter 9: Hesitance

"Why have things come to this point so quickly Mahad? I was hoping for a little more time. I really didn't want to deal with both of them at the same time." The Reiou said this as he paced back and forth in his room. He was a good decision-maker, forged through years of ruling as monarch and leading troops into battle, so it was not often that he would express such obvious anxiety when faced with a problem. Yet this time was unique, for some reason that still eluded him.

"It couldn't be helped Master, you had been missing from public life for too long for them not to be suspicious. If I may say so, confronting those two did nothing to help the situation. What was bothering you to make you lash out at them?"

"Wearing that accursed necklace for so long must have taken its toll on my mind. I'm not used to being so restrained. A measure of my own naïveté, I suppose, though I didn't expect that there was such a broad topic that I knew so little about."

"Sir?"

Breaking out of his trance, he thought about confiding in Mahad. '_He is my closest friend… but it wouldn't be like me to broach a subject with no sense of how to proceed in the discussion. Not that he would read anything into it, but I'll talk to him about this matter later, when I learn of its true nature.' _"It's nothing. More importantly, how are they moving?"

"They've more or less decided to focus all of their efforts towards reconnoitering your personal activities. Now that they know that you know who she is, their best course of action is to monitor whether or not you contact her again."

"If I haven't mentioned it before, Mahad, I hate that Flower King. He really knows how to irritate me, even without taking into account the last three months during which I had to wear that accursed talisman, all because of him."

"Well, if it's any consolation, Sire, the time that you'll move openly against him is swiftly approaching."

"Well with regards to the princess… I do this with hesitance, and I hope neither you nor she thinks it cruel of me to select this… less than optimal course of action. Call Karim back, there's no point in him staying any longer."

At this point, he stopped pacing and moved in direct path to the room's door.

"Deliver a message to Yamamoto regarding my plan and what actions I expect Soul Society to take. Prepare for my absence. I don't know how long I'll be gone this time, either."

Although not fazed, as he followed his master through the door, Mahad couldn't help but wonder where the Reiou planned to go. Although, after seeing the uncharacteristically conflicted, yet determined look on his face, Mahad thought that he had a reasonable guess.

* * *

_Flashback_

_The center courtyard of the Reiou's traditional exterior palace is a beautiful place, with flowers, trees, and grasses originating from the Earth, Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and many other places, all cultivated meticulously. The arrangement and plant selection usually depended on the current Reiou's tastes, but the one that was ruling at this time had no head for such things, so he had decided to leave all horticultural decisions throughout the entire complex to the female leaders of the Zero division. _

_One such pre-eminent member of said division was currently issuing orders to several of her subordinates, who were now all focusing on the large golden gate in the middle of the room. Hikifune Kirio unsheathed her soul cutter along with the others and faced the now opening gate, preparing for a possible incursion by the enemy._

_It was, however, a false alarm, and the most authorized of all people to use the gate emerged from it, walking swiftly towards her._

_"Welcome back, Reiou-sama."_

_"It's always pleasant to have you greet me here Hikifune-san. Is there any news?" he said casually._

_"There is. At the moment a man is waiting in one of the external antechambers. He wouldn't give us his name, but instead repeatedly demanded to see you."_

_"What does he look like?"_

_"He's thin, average height, has blond hair, and a somewhat feminine face. Oh, and he wears a mantle with a floral emblem, as well as a wreath of hibiscus around his head."_

_The Reiou stopped in his tracks. So did everyone else who was working in the courtyard. They all felt the sudden, drastic change in the atmosphere of the room._

_"Has he been informed of my whereabouts?"_

_"Of course not, my lord."_

_"Immediately destroy everything in this room that could be used to trace my past locations over the previous six months. Tell Mahad to meet me in the antechamber." He departed swiftly, without waiting for a response or assuring the job was done. He trusted his subordinates with this task and, after all, time was of the essence._

_He arrived minutes later in the section of the palace used for entertaining guests and visitors, and proceeded to the antechamber which had an unusual pressure coming from it._

_He rounded the corner and came face to face with a man he had hoped not to see so soon. "Flower Prince-dono, what brings you here today?"_

_The man stood up and faced the Reiou, "Only the most important business, of course, Reiou-sama," he said, punctuating the last couple of words with the utmost of sarcasm._

_"Feel obligated to refer to me as Lord of Kemet, as you always have, shounen."_

_"Of course, of course, your lordship, forgive me. I was merely showing my respect for your newfound position, one that you obviously still resent taking. You could always switch with my master if you so pleased."_

_"He'd certainly like that, wouldn't he? Only a megalomaniac like him would want this rotten job."_

_"Now, now, you shouldn't talk about someone else's master like that, should you?"_

_"As if you care. I could curse his family line ten generations back and forward, and compare him to some of the less attractive Hollows, and you still wouldn't bat an eyelash."_

The Prince sighed, "I know that one is obligated to care about his master's affairs, but it's not like I really think of him as my master. As you and he well know, I have my own desires and wishes. At most, I'm with him and the rest of the Order as part of tradition, and because he's stronger than me. I'm not going to be his lapdog like the Duke. Or him…" he said, gesturing at Mahad, who was just entering the room to stand next to his master, "…no offence intended".

_"None taken, since I consider what you suggested to be a noble duty that I'm grateful to have the chance to perform."_

_The Prince sighed once more and said, "that's just like the both of you, so predictable that it's…"_

_Kemet interrupted him, slightly annoyed, "enough with the pleasantries and idle talk. What is it that you came here to say?"_

_The Prince suddenly became serious. "Well, it's a matter of great importance to the King, myself, and many other parties. We believe that you know the location of, and have made contact with, the Princess."_

_"Why ever would you think that?" he replied, in a sugar-coated tone that seethed with hostility._

_"There's no use playing dumb, we already have intelligence and motive laid out in this case. Technically speaking, if you weren't forthright with the information we desired, this was to be a diplomatic correspondence indicating the Order of the Hibiscus Flower's intent to declare war on you and your dependent states if it is discovered at any time that you are withholding information regarding the Princess."_

_"Believe me, if she turns out to be anything like you other three, I will be quite happy not to meet her."_

_"Well, I hope that you're doing the right thing for your kingdoms. I will take my leave now, since I've already said what I was sent here to say." He snapped his fingers to open a rift in space behind him, by which he exited the room, as well as the entire dimension._

_As soon as he was gone, Mahad turned to the only other remaining person in the room and asked, "What are you going to do now, Master?"_

_"Nothing, yet. Just tell Karim to lie low and for the love of Ra not to get caught."_

* * *

_2 weeks later_

_"Sire, urgent news!"_

_The soldier came running up to him as swiftly as he could, coming to an abrupt stop in front of his ruler and genuflecting before him._

_"Sire, not an hour has passed since Inoue Orihime was taken to Las Noches by Aizen's troops."_

_A shock coursed through the mighty ruler's body, imperceptible to anyone but himself, but still a significant enough reaction to cause him alarm. "I should probably…I want to…no, I will do this properly." After collecting his strewed thoughts, he addressed his vassal._

_"Issue the order, by my authority, for the 6 Imperial Court Guardians to assemble, excluding Lieutenant Commander Karim."_

_Immediately after issuing the order, he turned and left, and proceeded to the room where he would soon meet with his most trusted advisors._

* * *

_10 minutes before beginning of chapter_

_'How I would love to act directly in this matter…' he thought, before turning to address the 5 people seated around him, one chair being noticeably empty._

_"The situation now is tantamount to both Aizen and the Flower King signing a treaty. The two are impeding our two main objectives in almost equal shares, and are supporting each other now. Neither of the two is, however, aware of the other's existence nor of the position they have in this conflict. I plan to be in hiding until the crucial moment, when I shall swiftly secure all of our interests. My plan is to mostly let Soul Society handle their own affairs, so we only need to prepare for a supportive role in that arena. Additionally, we need to act quickly after Soul Society and myself make our move, because the Order will be hot on our heels. In regards to Soul Society's strategy or our subsequent mobilization, does anyone have any questions or issues that they would like to bring up at this time? Yes, go ahead Aknad."_

_The discussion proceeded and the military commanders of the Spirit King's troops drew up the plans for the upcoming conflict. After tense and hurried discussion, debate, and deliberation, ten minutes later, four of the six people filed out of the room to perform the tasks they had just discussed, and in general to return to their duties. Only the two, the King and his right hand, remained in the room in silence, unsaid things still begging utterance._

* * *

Inoue Orihime looked over the bleak expanse of Hueco Mundo from her tower suite in Las Noches. Ulquiorra had only recently left after introducing her to Aizen and the espada, and subsequently escorting her to this room.

Her room. The place where she would live from now on.

Merely thinking about this set her heart ill at ease, and this poor outlook on life, combined with the bleak, depressing landscape, was almost enough to make her physically ill.

She turned around, and walked slowly to her bed, trying to absorb everything that had happened to her in the last 24 hours. As she reached her bed, she slumped down and buried her face into the inappropriately soft and comfortable mattress and wept. She had not remembered the last time life had been so cruel to her that it had compelled her to cry so profoundly, as if her spirit itself and her will to live was pouring from her eyes along with the salty liquid.

She continued for several minutes, eventually letting her melancholy die and be replaced by resigned sniffles and spasms in her chest. She got up slowly and turned around, her head still hung low, when her eyes suddenly met with a new element of the scenery.

Perched on her windowsill was a little ball of white fur, no more than a foot high, with cute triangular eyes perched on top of its head, a fluffy white tall, and two large, staring eyes stained an enchanting sort of purple. It let out a soft barking sound, causing the recently shaken Orihime to jump back.

After the initial shock of seeing this canine creature appear out of nowhere passed to some degree, she composed herself and slowly approached him as he remained on his perch, staring at her, it seemed. She cautiously closed the distance between them, ready to activate her abilities if the need to defend herself should arise, but before that happened she found that she was already within reaching distance of this creature.

She slowly extended her hand, but the creature made no movement, other than blinking and slightly tilting its head. Before she knew it, her hand had sunk into the animal's thick fur.

"_So soft. Is this what dogs in Hueco Mundo are like?"_

Unbidden, these thoughts and sensations conjured within her the slightest hint of a smile since her incarceration had begun. The dog, seeing this, leapt onto her shoulder, greatly shocking the girl. He then yipped happily and rubbed his muzzle gently into the side of her head.

"_He's so friendly! Who would've thought something like this could exist in this horrible place."_ Returning somewhat to her old, outspoken nature, she turned and looked the dog in the eyes, and said, "I had to leave all my friends behind when I came here, and thinking about it made me very lonely. So I was wondering… will you be my friend?" Her eyes possessed such a sad, pleading quality that it's doubtful the dog could have denied her if he had wanted to. Regardless, his response was to yip happily and lick her face, causing the young girl to giggle.

With a sincere smile, she said, "I was thinking of naming you. You're very white, so… how about Shiro-chan?"

She was still smiling when the image of an angry Hitsugaya appeared in her head and wiped it from her face.

"Oh yeah… I forgot that we already call Hitsugaya-taichou that. Well then, I guess it'll have to be Yuki-chan!"

Yuki looked happily back at the girl, to whose life he had just returned sunlight and hope, and the two retired for the night, content with their newfound friendship in this barren environment that loomed oppressively over their sleeping forms.

**Well, this is the longest chapter yet. Sorry for the delay in its release, but I wasn't as motivated as I would have been if I'd gotten more reviews (wink wink). Anyways, thanks for reading, and a belated thanks to vfergus and Aquavit for reviewing.**

**P.S. Click on the Review button if you want the next chapter sooner**

**P.P.S. Shounen means boy, Shiro means white, Yuki means snow, and I'll probably refer to the Hanaou and Reiou and Flower King and Spirit King, respectively, from now on.**


	10. The True Nature of the Dog

To anyone that cares to read this: its been a long time since I updated. Let's just say the reason was writer's block. I actually had the first part of this one done a long time ago, but I started procrastinating waiting for more chapters to come out so that this installment would match the canon better. Also, spoiler alert for what are now not recent chapters. Anyway, this one is a little longer than I've done in the past, but hopefully it holds together well.

Diclaimer: original characters belong to me, but Kubo Tite actually contributed alot to this chapter, as referencing his works allowed me to gloss over some things here. Call it laziness, but I didn't want to rehash scenes that didn't differ from his rendition, since he probably wrote the dialogue better than me anyway.

_**

* * *

**_

_**Chapter 10: The True Nature of the Dog**_

In the dark recesses of his mind, a battle was occurring. He knew what had to be done, and yet he was still hesitating.

"_In order for my plan to work, I must leave her once more. I feel hesitant, however. I know what brutes the hollows living in this palace are, their organization and make-shift attempt at forming a kingdom under Aizen does little to disguise the underlying savagery of the creature known as Hollow. Especially that number 5… if it were just number 4 I was dealing with, I would not have to worry. He is sensible and restrained. But that other one is unpredictable and his blood-lust is barely restrained as it is. Those two are the only ones who visit her. Does that mean my chances are equal both ways?"_

The question was answered for him as another, previously unconsidered party entered the room in the outside world, causing him to snap out of his inner retreat. Quickly, he ran behind the bed so as not to be seen by the intruder.

The voice came from the doorway, "Now look at that…you're alone, miss princess."

'_Whoever it is at least is astute. Few people recognize that she is deserving of such a title.' _His analysis of the intruding party was quickly overturned, as their behavior deteriorated into pointless and uninspired taunting.

"O—ri---hi—me—chan, let ussss plaaaay, o---kaaay?"

They proceeded to enter the room, and without any more words, began punching and throwing the girl around the room. If they were not so involved in their attack, perhaps they would have heard the none-to-subtle growl coming from underneath the bed in the room.

"Hah, that's what you get! Did you honestly think that human strength could compare to an arrancar's?"

To the noble woman's credit, she did not flinch under such an assault, but merely regarded her foe with a look worn by few people who were not monks or other devout individuals. It was the passive look that shows no anger, remorse, or judgement, and is designed to cause the enemy to lose interest in the target. He was not sure if she knew what she was doing, but his concern and displeasure with the situation was briefly replaced, leaving him feeling very impressed. '_I'm sure she has her own faith…'_

At least, such a technique works on a reasonable opponent with a clear objective. The inexperienced arrancar now holding the young girl was instead filled with self-pity and a burning desire for some type of gratification, which led her to interpret the look incorrectly.

"…You…What's with that look on your face!" she screamed and hit the girl with renewed vigor.

By this point, the small white dog hiding under the bed was digging his claws into the floor and biting down hard on his hind legs as an ultimate, desperate measure to stop himself from leaping out and going to her aid.

"Hey, keep it down a little." This was said by the companion who had entered the room with the arrancar girl now assaulting Orihime, who was by this point worried that this unauthorized beating might be overheard.

"Geez… you're so annoying. Oh! I know! I'm going to rip her nails off!"

"Hey…Lolly…" her friend urged, worry and fear etched into her face after such a loud outburst.

The arrancar named Lolly turned to look at her friend and retort, but she had not the chance to open her mouth before a large explosion shook the wall behind them.

All three were thrown to the far side of the room, the small dog coming up onto the bed for a better vantage point.

The arrancars coughed. "What was that!?" exclaimed the loud one who had been doing most of the torture. As the smoke cleared, an ominous figure appeared before the three, accompanied by an oppressive spirit pressure. All regarded the new visitor; but the two girls who had been caught acting without orders had looks of pure terror on their faces.

'_Grimmjow Jaggerjacques, I know this one well from Soul Society's reports on recent occurrences in Karakura."_

"Grimmjow!" Both girls were sweating profusely by this point, due to both the overwhelming spirit pressure and their pure terror.

"Yo. Scampering in while Ulquiorra's not around and having some fun are we, hm?"

"D-Damn…" stuttered the quiet arrancar girl.

Continuing with the momentum of rage she had built, the abrasive one yelled, "W-What's with you?! And just what the hell are you do-"

She was interrupted as he used sonido to deliver a soft kick to her abdomen.

As the girl crashed into the wall, the other one charged him, but he merely brushed her aside with a small cero.

_'With that confidence and those skills, he certainly is an espada. The movements are quite well-defined in their roughness."_ The dog had calmed himself, Orihime being temporarily out of combat. Still this espada just burst into the room for some reason, so there was no time for it to relax.

All turned their attention back to the noisy arrancar as she stuttered out her forced, painful words.

"A-Aizen-sama won't stay quiet about you doing this stuff to us, you know…."

Grimmjow just glared at her and grabbed her by the ankle.

"The likes of you…."

The girl started to panic; amongst her cries of "Hey, wait!" and "Stop it, I won't tell!" the espada relentlessly applied pressure to her kneecap with his foot.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah-"

Blinded by the pain of her newly formed stump of a leg, the arrancar yelled furiously, "I-I'll kill you! You're gonna get killed!! By Aizen-sama…"

He kicked her in the face to shut her up.

"…Dipshit. As if Aizen-sama would do anything for shit-heads like you guys…"

Now the room went silent, and Grimmjow turned to look at Orihime. The girl was shocked by the events that she had just witnessed, all of them seemingly dripping with altruism from this unexpected source.

All she could utter was a feeble, "W-…Why?"

"To repay you for my left arm." As her expression turned to one of surprise, he picked her up by the collar. She looked warily at him, "Wh—What are you doing?"

"What am I doing? Do you think I came here just to save you? How naïve. My debt's been repaid to you, so I'm not going to take any shit. Now you're going to accompany me on an errand."

As he practically dragged the bewildered girl out of the room, leaving the two arrancar girls squirming in pain on the floor, the dog noticed the espada glance back at him and scoff.

_"Well at least she's taken care of now. He's too simple-minded to want to harm her, as long as he gets what he wants. Still, do not underestimate me espada, for my true mission begins now."_

The dog stalked quietly out of the room and down the dimly lit hallways of Los Noches, blending into the shadows.

* * *

The throne room of Los Noches lay abandoned except for a barely perceptible shadow of a small animal, slowly making its way to the pedestal containing Aizen's treasure.

The small animal glowed and grew, and in a brief amount of time had assumed an entirely different form: that of the Spirit King.

"Ah, that's a relief. I don't like being cooped up like that." He reached into the folds of his robes and pulled out a small device.

"Time to check the mission status… it looks like they've already gone through the Garganta via Urahara Shoten … and as far as I can tell, Aizen, Ichimaru, Tousen, and 4 espada are in a room in one of the central towers. I don't want to set it off until Aizen heads to Yamamoto's ambush, so I should steal the crystal now and begin setup half an hour from now. Then I'll have another half-hour to make preparations. By that time Yamamoto will have engaged and have been fighting will Aizen for a little over 30 minutes. As long as they can stall him that long, it doesn't matter if he makes it back before detonation."

He moved forward towards the pedestal and applied as little spirit pressure as possible. He kept slowly increasing the pressure until he could do so no further without being detected, but to no avail.

"Damn. It requires average captain-level reiatsu to trigger the opening mechanism, which would surely bring all of Los Noches down upon me. No choice but plan B then. It may be noisy, but I'll take audio detection versus reiraku detection anyday."

His hand starting glowing, and he thrust it. "Heaven's sunder!"

The pedestal shattered leaving the main storage compartment open to the air. He reached in and grabbed it quickly.

His expression turned to one of disgust as he held it. "Man, was I right about this thing. Even through what's left of Urahara's suppressing shield, it smells just like them. This familiar reiatsu that feels like its going to strike me at any moment is certainly as much a threat as I had feared."

He regarded the small object and addressed it. "Well, you and your resting place for these last 6 months will soon feel the embrace of the void you are so at home with, so rejoice."

He clenched the object firmly in his fist and walked out of the room. He walked quickly through the halls and went down every staircase he came across, not caring where it lead him.

"Time to go to the core of Los Noches."

* * *

As the Spirit King walked nonchalantly through the lower halls of Los Noches, several events were occurring of which he was not aware. Uryuu and Renji had been cornered by Zaell'apollo Grantz and rescued by the 12th division captain. Grimmjow had temporarily disposed of Ulquiorra, allowed Orhime to heal his rival and been defeated by that same rival, Ichigo. Aizen had sent Nnoitora to check the spike of reiatsu near the throne room, but he disobeyed and instead went to fight the intruders he sensed on one of the nearby buildings. Captains Unohana and Kuchiki had arrived and rescued Chad and Rukia respectively, and Zaraki Kenpachi had done the same for Ichigo after Nnoitora had come.

Just as the 4th espada broke out of his prison and rendezvoused with Stark in the tower to guard Orihime, the Spirit King arrived at his destination, the lowest, most central chamber of Los Noches. As soon as he felt Aizen and his 5 adjutants leave through the World Gate, he released his reiatsu a bit.

He quickly made sure he had not been followed, then broke the subtly constructed kyoumon he had set in place upon his arrival in Hueco Mundo. As it shattered, an intricately carved summoning circle appeared on the floor, which he had taken care to prepare beforehand.

He walked into the center of the circle and raised his hand.

"Hadou no Rokujyuuni: Sublime Thunder, Grand Lightning Bolt!"

The blast of yellow light ascended rapidly, smashing holes in each of the floors above him until it finally pierced the dome of Los Noches.

"Time to begin." He walked out to the edge of the circle and began channeling his energy for the summoning ritual.

* * *

Ulquiorra was now on the dome of Los Noches, fighting Ichigo in his released form. Ichigo was just barely hanging on, taking several hits every time he thought he had blocked a single strike. He had to use Getsuga Tenshou just to counter basic attacks, and he was running out of energy fast. As Ulquiorra kept driving him further into despair, he stumbled over a piece of gravel. The next instant he saw the tip of Murucielago rushing towards his face. _"Shit. This is…"_

At that moment, an explosion shook the dome as a second hole burst through the roof with a rush of blinding yellow light.

_"What. Who dares…" _Ulquiorra turned his head and his pupil contracted as he witnessed the destruction of the roof of his master's castle.

"Ha. Just because you're faster now, you shouldn't let down your guard, Ulquiorra."

The espada's head snapped back to observe Zangetsu piercing his body. He looked up at his opponent, who had taken advantage of the lapse in concentration to move in and skewer him. "Don't forget that Tensa Zangetsu is pretty fast too," he smirked.

The 4th espada used sonido to distance himself. He placed his hand on his chest, and to Ichigo's astonishment, used Cero to cauterize the wound.

The arrancar removed his hand and took his stance groaning slightly. "My concern for this palace will not distract me further. Now resume feeling the wrath of unreleased form!"

The battle of shunpo versus sonido continued. Ichigo, however, noticed that the espada's reactions had slowed somewhat, allowing him to evenly block the attacks. As their swords seemed to stop mid-clash, the orange-haired boy smirked at his opponent and said, "looks like this won't be an easy win for you after all, eh?"

The 4th looked back at him with his usual vacant stare, "Don't get full of yourself, boy. You still haven't evolved to the extent where you can match the likes of me in combat."

* * *

The rather lengthy, 20-minute-long incantation in the basement was almost over.

"…4 corners, 7 elements

Light dominates all and pierces the darkness

Way of Summoning: Light Column Gate"

The Spirit King opened his eyes as the ground began to quake, and a device several stories tall began to materialize in the center.

* * *

Both warriors, now in a lower part of the citadel after Ulquiorra's attack on Inoue and Ishida, paused and tried to maintain their footing as the whole of Los Noches shook.

"Wh-What the hell keeps happening down there?!" cursed the orange-haired shinigami substitute.

_"Damn. What is it now! This degree of reiatsu…I must investigate, it's top priority!"_ the black-winged espada thought as he stared with once-again contracted pupils at the pressure rising from the recently formed, mysterious hole in the roof.

"I don't have time to play with you anymore."

Ichigo turn to stare at him, almost gaping as he stuttered, "Wh-what the hell!! If you think I'm lettin' you cut and run now, just because it's getting a little tough, you've got to be kidding. There's no way in hell I'm letting you escape from here after what you put Inoue through."

"Foolish boy, I'm not fleeing. And to make sure you don't impede me…" Ulquiorra looked at Ichigo and glared, "You've scoffed at my power long enough. Behold the most powerful hollow attack, useable only by me in my second resureccion form: Cero Obscuras!"

Ichigo was too late to realize what he intended to do. Time seemed to stop for the boy as the blast went off as he was engulfed in darkness.

Ulquiorra looked on for a second, then turned away, "_well, that's taken care of. Now let's see what's happening down…"_

He never finished. His eyes widened as he realized something had happened without him being aware. He looked down at the bloody arm protruding through his chest, right past his soul bind…

The arm receeded and Ulquiorra spun around and jumped back, causing him to cough up blood. As his vision began to blur, he saw the two he attacked earlier as a diversion come over to Ichigo, as his beastly appearance vanished, leaving a very tired human. To his surprise, he saw the girl he had toyed with rushing towards him with tears in her eyes…

* * *

"Alright! All systems are go, now…", the Spirit King reached into his pocket and withdrew the detonating charge for the machine, the Hougyoku. He casually shattered the protective casing and flicked the gem with his thumb, so that it flew towards a circular hole in the front of the interface panel. As it made contact, it was sucked in, and faint clicking and whirring sounds could be heard as the machine locked it into place.

He was pushed backwards a little as the auto-protective barrier activated, with the new introduction of a power source.

"Success. Now to try and mitigate loss of life. He proceeded to perform a chantless Binding of the Sparrow.

* * *

A start ran through all Seireitei personnel as well as the humans from Karakura, who were now gathered together, facing Yami Rialgo in his espada form, as the Spirit King's technique psychically linked their minds to his.

"_Attention all Captains, Lieutenants, 3__rd__ and 7__th__ seats of the Goten protection squads, as well as any living humans currently in Hueco Mundo."_

Chad, Ishida, Ichigo and Inoue all looked at Rukia and Renji for some help understanding, since they had no idea who was speaking to them. Unfortunately the two shinigami could not help either, being just as confused as their living friends.

The Captains, however, took notice, having recognized the Spirit King's voice.

"_To all incursion force members, the mission is now over. The pan-dimensional explosive device has been successfully set-up and armed. The following is very important, especially for all non-Captains, who will not have heard this before, as it concerns your lives. The bomb is timed for 30 minutes, at which time Los Noches and everything else in a 5-mile radius will be consumed in a blast that will rip it from the fabric of this dimension and transport it into a chaotic abyss in a distant inter-dimensional pocket realm. Basically, if you don't get out of here by then, consider yourself dead."_

"Whaaaaaaat!" yelled Ichigo, coughing and twisting as his loud outburst irritated his internal bleeding. "Please Mr. Kurosaki, don't move!" pleaded Hanatarou, Ichigo's current medic.

By this point, all sturdy fighters were busy holding off Yami, while the medic team of Inoue, Hanatarou, Isane, and Unohana were busy healing the wounded in rounds, as they sustained more and more injuries from the enraged espada.

The telepathic broadcast continued, _"All non-Captains please attach yourself to a Captain's unit if you wish to survive. The Captain's will momentarily open their sealed orders and use the homing beacon contained inside to lead as many people as they can to the rendezvous point located several miles outside of Los Noches. At this location is a World Gate that leads directly to a hospital in my outer palace. Please remember that it will take at least 10 minutes for an average unencumbered shinigami to reach this point, asuuming everyone can still use shunpo, so please don't dawdle. Spirit King out."_

All non-Captains were looking at each other with puzzled looks on their faces, saying things like, "What, Spirit King?".

Captain Kuchiki, who was currently fighting off Yami almost single-handed at moment, looked over his shoulder and yelled, "Captain Unohana!"

The quiet captain nodded at him and began using Binding of the Sparrow.

"_Spirit King!"_

_"Oh, is it Unohana-san? What is it?"_

_"The thing is, the 10__th__ espada turned out to be the 0__th__ espada and all shinigami here are tied up fighting him off."_

_"Really, 0__th__ espada? So they number them from 0 to 9 instead of 1 – 10? That's kind of weird."_

_"Spirit King! We don't have timed for this now. As matters stand we can't escape at all!"_

_"Relax, relax. That's why I'm here. I'll be there in a minute, so begin preparations for evacuation. Relay the message to the other Captains and begin ferrying allies to the gate."_

_"But then… you intend to hold him off by yourself! Perhaps you don't understand how massive this reiatsu is… his size and reiatsu are both several times that of any other espada."_

_"I'll be fine. I can feel him pretty well from here, and he doesn't seem that tough, now go!"_

* * *

"For fuck's sake, where is he, he said he was comin' right over," yelled an exasperated Zaraki, as his sword made a shallow wound in Yami's arm that quickly healed.

"Would you please shut up, Zaraki, some of us are actually fatigued and running out of biochemical weapon supplies, unlike you," screamed an irate Mayuri.

"Both of you, just… be quiet, it takes concentration to move this many blades at once," Byakuya said calmly.

"I agree with Captain, let's focus on the…" but Renji never got to finish his sentence as his bone cannon attack was pushed aside. Left vulnerable, Renji could only gaze at the oncoming giant fist that dwarfed his body.

A moment later he was sailing backwards. Someone had caught him. He looked over his shoulder to see Ichigo. To his surprise, none of his bones were broken. He looked up at Ichigo again and saw the orange-haired nuisance looking straight ahead, rather than at him. Renji turned his gaze to match, and saw the reason for his survival.

A lone figure was standing in the shadow of the mammoth fist, holding it off with one hand. He was slowly being pushed back and the ground beneath him began to shatter and collapse.

"That's our cue to leave." Unohana said as she released her Zanpakutou. The strange ray-like creature engulfed everyone in the area except the two locked in combat, and flew up, and continued over the distant walls of Los Noches.

* * *

"Hurry up everyone. We only have 2 minutes left to get through," instructed Captain Kuchiki.

It had taken them longer than expected to find the gate. Due to Zaraki and Yachiru's combination of flawed directional advice and hatred of being ignored, they had temporarily hijacked Minazuki before the other captains could get them back under control. When they finally arrived, they had to find the cloaking device and deactivate it. By this time there were only 5 minutes left.

Byakuya glared at Ichigo and his friends, who had just wasted three minutes carrying Nel, Pesche, and Dondochakka up the stairs to the gate.

"Where do you think you're taking those hollows, boy."

"Through the gate! They're our allies in the fight against Aizen and more importantly our close friends!"

Just as Byakuya was about to retort, he felt a tugging on his sleeve. He looked down to see Rukia looking up at him with puppy-dog eyes. "Please Nii-sama, let's trust Ichigo."

Byakuya sighed. "Alright, bring them through."

As the last were entering Unohana paused and looked at the stationary 6th squad captain. "Aren't you coming as well?"

"It would dishonor the noble house of Kuchiki to abandon our king."

"But …"

"I will wait here until he comes, even if it means…"

He was cut off as he saw the Spirit King running towards him, followed by a limping behemoth.

He was yelling as he ran, "My bad. I didn't keep track of time and wound up not finishing him off, heh heh heh…"

The bewildered captains stood frozen as their superior ran up the steps, grabbed them both and jumped through. He looked back as he was going into the tunnel and slashed the gate with his sword after entering.

Yami roared as his hand surged after his escaping attacker and clenched only dust. He heard a loud explosion and turned around to look at Los Noches, after which he saw nothing but darkness.

* * *

**To anyone who enjoyed that, I hope it will not be another year (or however long it was) to the next installment. Also reviews are appreciated and would certainly motivate me as well.**


	11. Forest Breeze

**Disclaimer: look up 'Bleach' on wikipedia, it'll tell you who the owner is and it isn't me (last time I checked, at least). However, please do not replicate, alter, duplicate, etc. any original content without my prior consent.**

**Wow. I was really motivated this time, probably because of the one additional person who signed up for alerts, so thank you Frawg360, for your patronage.**

**BTW, I was planning on making this chapter longer, but I wanted to get it out today (also it's already longer than any other chapter).**

Enjoy (please!)

* * *

**Chapter 11: Forest Breeze**

A traditional Japanese-style room with wooden walls and tatami-covered floor. The rectangular room has large sliding doors on both of the shorter sides and several beds lined up along the walls. The feet of the beds face the aisle created by the doors and sparse amounts of medical equipment are positioned next to some of the beds. In this lonely setting, only one person is present: an orange-haired man slumbering heavily in a bed next to the door.

The sun shines low through the several windows, indicating the dawn of a new day. As the birds start chirping, the man slowly wakes up and yawns. _'What a weird dream... I was in Hueco Mundo and...'_

Ichigo's eyes snapped open as he felt the reality of the wounds he had incurred. His entire body was wrapped in dressings. He groaned as he stiffly tried to sit up. His head was swimming, but even through the pain he could swear he heard someone outside.

The clamouring worsened and worsened until he felt his head was going to explode, and then the door burst open. He saw a blurred silhouette standing in the light. Pausing for a moment, the eerie figure starting running toward him.

Time stopped for Ichigo. His newly-frozen veins pulsed as he stared at his impending doom. Surely this menacing figure was going to finish him off while he was incapacitated. Unable to do anything but wait for death, he closed his eyes and braced himself.

He groaned loudly as the wind was knocked out of him, as he slowly regained his composure, he noticed that nothing else was happening. Puzzled he opened his eyes and saw something small clinging to his torso.

"I don't know who you are, but you have 3 seconds to get off of me midget."

The black mass on his chest, that he now saw was human hair, reared itself back, revealing nostalgic, but furious, eyes. The next second he was groaning again, this time on the floor next to his bed, having been knocked off his bed by the furious girl.

"Baka Ichigo," the voice yelled. It was stern but he could still hear sniffling behind the words, as if the person had recently stopped crying. "And here I was, worrying myself sick for nothing."

He looked up and saw a very familiar person, her head turned and her arms folded as if she was angry, rather than just sulking.

"Rukia?"

He looked beyond the small shinigami and saw the others who had come with her upon his waking: a relieved Chad, an aloof Ishida, a scowling Renji, and a strange woman wearing white robes whom he had never met before. He looked over them again and realized what was bothering him about the situation.

"Where's Inoue? She's safe too right. I just finished saving her, so you guys –"

"Shut up already Ichigo, let us explain before you start screamin' at us," advised Renji.

"First of all, you haven't just saved her. We left Hueco Mundo about 4 days ago. _We_ were all better after only 2 days rest," Ishida gestured to himself and Renji, "and _we_ had our spleens and livers shredded to pieces."

"Yeah, where does your lazy ass get off sleeping for 4 straight days, when we-"

"Oh yeah, Renji, well I-"

The orange- and red-haired men were now engaged in a full-scale shouting match. A vein throbbed in Rukia's forehead, but neither one noticed until it was too late. Now sporting large bumps on their heads, they sat quietly as the small girl admonished them.

"Honestly, arguing like that. First of all, you," she gestured towards Ichigo, "should still be resting, and you," now pointing accusingly at a fearful Renji, "ought to know better and behave yourself in front of your superior."

"Superior?" the tattooed man queried, eyebrow raised.

The girl sighed, "Well, I know you've been brooding for the last 2 days, but it wouldn't have killed you to pay attention to this nice woman who has been overseeing our recovery and graciously explaining the current situation to us."

Renji looked away sheepishly, and Ichigo now focused his attention to the unfamiliar woman standing next to his friends. "Umm, who are you?" Ichigo asked of the stranger.

Rukia forgot about Renji and rounded on Ichigo again, "It wouldn't kill you to be polite either." She took a large breath, "This is Captain Hikifune of the Gotei 13."

Before anyone could question the existence of a Captain they had never heard of, the newly introduced Captain hastily amended the young shinigami's statement.

"Ex-Captain. Of the twelfth division. I don't make much contact with the real world or Soul Society anymore, but I understand there have been quick successions of 2 new captains in my old division since I was inducted into the Zero Division over a hundred years ago.

The high-school student looked even more confused than before, if possible. "Zero Division. What's that?" The two females sighed simultaneously this time.

"It appears you're as ill-informed as this brash young Vice-Captain. Allow me to explain this again..."

* * *

_The Zero Division. Aptly named for its vast difference in purpose than the other so-called divisions of the Gotei 13. The Zero division is only loosely associated with the 13 protection squads, and communicates solely through the administrative division, the first. _

_The main difference is that rather than dealing with the internal affairs of Soul Society, namely the regulation of souls passing on from Earth, the Zero division acts as the office that maintains contact with both the organizations similar to Soul Society that are responsible for different areas of Earth, and the governing bodies that oversee affairs within these institutions, of which Soul Society is predominant. Specifically, the elite of Soul Society have always reported directly to the Spirit King, an individual chosen by an even greater authority, who ensures all affairs are squared away in Soul Society, usually for his entire life, although there are some exceptions. _

_The situation with Earth may be more familiar, in which the pre-eminent leaders of a nation are chosen as ambassadors. Similarly, the Zero division, the ambassadors of Soul Society, are chosen from the elite of Soul Society. Captains are the primary candidates within the Gotei 13, although there have been cases in which Vice-Captains or even some of the higher ranking seated officers in the squads have been selected. Similarly, leaders of the other two military institutions, the Covert Ops and the Demon Arts divisions, are equally considered. There are also quite a few appointments outside the military, for example, the governing body of the Central 46, the civil judicial courts, and the higher noble houses all act as pools from which candidates may be selected. Additionally, anyone who has the express nomination of the Spirit King may join regardless of their position._

_Similar to Soul Society, the premises of the Zero division are a finite-area dimension. Simply speaking, as opposed to your world, in which you can gaze into space and see stars stretching endlessly, if you walk far enough in Soul Society or the Zero Court, you will eventually hit a wall. Mind you, this wall is dangerously unstable and well-regulated, so that few ordinary people would ever see it in Soul Society. The principle behind creating walls to segregate dimensional space is that a less nebulous boundary means greater security against trans-dimensional invasion. For example, a hollow's garganta can reach Soul Society, but not here. This entire complex known as the Zero Court occupies about 1 square mile of land, at the boundary of which is a wall, beyond which there is nothing. This well-defined boundary creates security that few can penetrate. _

_As I mentioned earlier, the boundary is square. The interior consists of concentric nested square walls. Interspersed between them are residences and offices, constructed in the traditional Japanese style, as well as parks and other public areas for relaxation, as contact with the outside world, even as close as Soul Society, is infrequent for most among the members of the Zero division. At the center of the Zero Court is the structure known as the King's Gate, which connects to the Spirit King's castle. The castle is not located here for two fundamental reasons: one, the castle is located in an even more secure area; and two, as each Spirit King is normally selected from nobility of various origins, they usually have their own castle which they prefer to adapt and connect to us via a World Gate. Additionally, it is infeasible for most of them to shirk their existing responsibilities and move here full-time._

_Usually a council of members selected from within the Zero division by its own members, is periodically elected to run the affairs of the Zero Court and our duties within Soul Society. However, in times of war, the Spirit King, who is typically the commander-in-chief of the Gotei 13, may decide to intervene and convey messages to Soul Society personally, such as the recent invasion of Hueco Mundo several days ago._

* * *

"...so I hope that clears things up as to where you are," concluded Hikifune.

Renji had once again stopped paying attention early on in the speech, but Ichigo was looking at her with rapt attention, absorbing as much information as possible, and anxiously waiting to ask the question still preying on his mind.

"Alright, I kinda get it now. But you still haven't answered my question: where's Inoue? Why isn't she here?"

"Well, I know she insisted on doing some emergency treatment on each of you before they took her away. She was very worried, even though you had been soaking in the miraculous healing fluids in the belly of Captain Unohana's zanpakuto. After about 15 minutes, the Spirit King became impatient with her and insisted she come away immediately to rest, since she had already been suffering from debilitating exhaustion for quite some time, not to mention her stamina had weakened due to her confinement in Las Noches for several weeks. He took her away through the King's Gate, and I don't know any more than that, since I was in charge of your care and have been here almost continuously for the past couple of days."

Ichigo starting lifting his torso off the bed, on which he had long since repositioned himself, when Rukia started to push him back down.

"Where do you think you're going?" inquired the still angry Rukia.

"Where do you think? I want to go see that Inoue is safe with my own eyes."

He attempted to get up again, but this time Hikifune was the one to place her hand on his shoulder. "Ichigo, I know you're worried, but you have to rest. Also, you're not allowed to leave this building without clearance from the Spirit King himself, so you'll just have to wait."

He began opening his mouth, as if to protest, but the former Captain took the opportunity to throw a pill into his mouth. He swallowed instinctively and looked up at her, confused as to what happened.

"You just swallowed a fast-acting sedative. You'll be awake again 24 hours from now, and you should be well enough to walk around the building without assistance by then. Until then, rest easy."

Ichigo struggled a bit to stay awake, but eventually succumbed to the overwhelming drug-induced desire to sleep, comforting himself with the knowledge that at least Inoue wasn't in any immediate danger.

* * *

"No! Stay away!" A luxurious silk pillow sailed across the room, aimed at a woman standing near the door, who managed to dodge it.

"Please, Miss Orihime, calm down!" pleaded an anxious Ishizu. The Holy Court Guardian was standing at the entrance to the room selected to house Inoue Orihime, approximately 20 minutes after the war party's return to the Zero Court from Hueco Mundo. Her master had given her specific instructions to attend to her during her recovery, and to not to let the girl out of her sight while she rested, despite the fact that she was in the heavily protected castle of the Spirit King. At the moment, however, she was at a loss as to how to coerce the anxious girl throwing whatever she could lay her hands on at her into lying down and sleeping.

"What's going on her Ishizu?" the Spirit King said as her threw open the door. As soon as he entered, the girl stopped throwing things and became still. Ishizu looked back and forth between the two, amazed at her sudden change in demeanour.

"My lord, thank goodness you've arrived."

"I know that you haven't been trained as a bednurse, Ishizu, but for the love of Ra I only gave her to you a couple minutes ago! What's happening that's so urgent you called me back here, just when I was preparing to given the post-operation briefing?"

"It's Miss Orihime, my lord. Ever since you left her here she has been in a fit, throwing various objects at me. I've tried reasoning with her, I even resorted to using some weak binding spells, but it's all been for naught."

The Spirit King took a moment to verify this by scanning the floor, noting the shattered glass lamp, as well as the various wall adornments that now resided there. He turned to look at his ward. "Well she seems perfectly calm now, if a bit out of sorts."

"She stopped as soon as you entered, my lord."

He took three large steps towards the bed, proceeding to lean in, but the startled girl made no motion to back away. He reached forward and pulled back one of her eyelids, leaning in closer to examine it in detail.

"Well here's your problem, Ishizu, haven't I told you to look into a person's eyes to see their soul? Come here."

Orihime tensed a bit as the second person approached, but remained relatively calm, not moving enough to disturb the grip the Spirit King had on her face. As Ishizu moved closer and leaned in to get a better look, she almost recoiled at what she saw: abject terror.

"It's not surprising, really. After all, I've seen first-hand what she had to deal with in Las Noches, and a lesser person wouldn't have survived for long. But still, she is a young girl, and such a traumatic experience won't be forgotten overnight, let alone in the couple of hours since she reunited with her friends. Since then she's seen new horrors as well."

"But then why would she lash out at me? I'm certainly not a hollow and she must have realized I meant her no harm."

The Spirit King looked a bit surprised as he turned to his subordinate, but he quickly smirked. "Ishizu, if you can't even see this without going all out, you have some training to do. The fact is that this girl has realized nothing since about 30 minutes ago, when we were still in Hueco Mundo. She is not lucid. This all seems like a dream to her, and due to her recent trauma, her body is instinctively maintaining its guard when it should be recovering its strength. Most likely the presence of a strange person has agitated her somewhat." He relaxed his grip and pulled his hand away from her face. He then took two steps back, and she seemed to almost lose control of herself again. He stepped back in, and she visibly relaxed.

"Well, there's no doubt about it: my presence calms her somehow. That's a bit problematic since I have to go to the meeting now, which I'm already late for."

He sighed and cocked his head, resting it on his hand. He stood there pensively for a moment, and then jerked out of his stance, clearly having reached a decision.

"All we need is something that reminds her enough of me. Go get the demonic suppression talisman."

"Which one, my lord?"

"The pectoral. The one that I wore recently to the real world. She has seen me with it almost every day for a few months, so she should recognize it."

He stayed with her for five more minutes, after which time Ishizu returned with the familiar golden object. The Spirit King took it from her and laid it near the girl, very gingerly. She immediately grabbed the talisman so intensely that her knuckles whitened, but she quickly relaxed her grip, and the two watched as all the muscles in her body relaxed and she finally began to sleep soundly.

After telling his subordinate to continue watching over the girl and to call him if anything should arise, he ran off at top speed back to the Grand Hall, in which the meeting was supposed to have started about 10 minutes ago.

* * *

"How come this guy always takes so long? Five more minutes and I'm leaving!"

Captain Zaraki was the first to break the almost ten-minute long silence. The group had been seated around the table, waiting for the meeting to commence, and some were getting impatient, for various reasons.

"I'm not hurt that bad, but these cuts still itch like hell, and Yachiru's goin' to need a nap soon. It's not goin' to be my problem if she starts getting cranky."

Captain Kuchiki wearily turned his head to regard the man sitting diagonally across from him. "The longer I spend here, the longer I have to be in your presence. That battle with the espada was enough time spent with you to last me a lifetime."

The pointy-haired captain was about to retort, but the noble captain cut across him. "Besides, Zaraki, if Hisagi and Izuru can stand being here in their condition, so can you." With that Zaraki decided to keep his mouth shut, as even he could sense the dangerous tone of annoyance in the others voice.

A couple others at the table had turned to look at the sole exchange of the past couple of minutes, but most sat still, with their arms crossed or resting on their chairs, waiting for the meeting to begin. Most captains were quite composed, but several others, especially the lower-ranking officers, were quite obviously longing to go rest after the tough struggle.

The tedium and confusion surrounding the silent room was broken immediately when the doors at the end of the hall were flung open. Some of the more attentive people may have noticed him Flash Step to his seat from the door, but few actually registered it, just being glad that he was finally here.

Seating himself and scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, the Spirit King slowly looked over everyone, and then cleared his throat.

"Thank you for waiting everyone, my apologies for being late. Now then, this is the strategic briefing of the last operation. Only those who took place in the actual battle were invited to be here, and there are some who could not be present, for medical reasons. Let me begin by familiarizing everyone. I see that you all are sitting in order of squad, as I requested, so let's begin. In clockwise order,

1st division, Captain-commander Yamamoto Genryuusai, present

2nd division, Captain Soi Fon undergoing medical treatment, instead the 2nd division will be represented by Lieutenant Oomaeda Marechiyo

3rd division, my thanks for Lieutenant Izuru Kira for attending despite his grievous wounds

4th division, Captain Unohana Retsu and Lieutenant Kotetsu Isane present, as well as 7th seat Yamada Hanatarou

5th division, I thought that no one would be able to represent, but I thank Hinamori Momo, who interrupted our battle, for accepting responsibility here as Lieutenant of the 5th division

6th division, Captain Kuchiki Byakuya is present, Lieutenant Abarai Renji is currently being treated

7th division, Captain Komamura Sajin and Lieutenant Iba Tetsuzaemon both present

8th division, Captain Kyouraku Shunsui present

9th division, again I thank Lieutenant Hisagi Shuuhei for coming despite being injured

10th division, Captain Hitsugaya Toushirou present, Lieutenant Matsumoto Rangiku absent for medical treatment

11th division, Captain Zaraki Kenpachi and Lieutenant Kusajishi Yachiru present, 3rd and 5th seats Madarame Ikkaku and Yumichika Ayasegawa both absent for treatment

12th division, Captain and Lieutenant Kurotsuchi Mayuri and Nemu present

And as for the 13th division, unfortunately both participants from the division, Captain Ukitake Juushiro and Officer Kuchiki Rukia, are both incapacitated."

No one was really surprised as the Spirit King concluded his role call, as most were already aware of the status of their fellow combatants, but some had only just realized that some of the more injured shinigami, some of whom they thought were absent, were actually in attendance. The reason, it appeared, for not noticing them sooner was that the aforementioned attendees were sitting or laying in wheelchairs or mobile beds, several feet behind the others, since their conveyances were too large to fit around the relatively small circumference of the table.

Still there were a few questions left unanswered. Captain Hitsugaya was the first to yield to his curiosity. "Who are the two guys sitting next to you, Reiou-sama?"

"I was getting to that. On my immediate left is General Karim, and on my immediate right is General Shada. You may not be familiar with them, but they too participated in the battle." He stopped for a second of consideration, and then concluded, "and just to be thorough, I am the Spirit King, which all of you probably already knew."

Just as he was inhaling, about to introduce that main point, someone interrupted by saying, "The what-King? Spirit? What're you talking about, Dog-boy?"

Everyone appeared shocked, including the Spirit King, who turned and looked at the man on his right, who had just spoken. Upon doing so, his expression changed to one of understanding, laced heavily with sarcasm. "Uhh, right. I was wrong. Apparently Shada doesn't concern himself with such minor details."

Before anyone could express their outrage, confusion, annoyance, disbelief, or any other emotion, the Spirit King finally got around to saying what he had wanted to say.

"Now, on to the main point. None of you were filled in on the entire plan beforehand, in case of security leaks, so I will now summarize the operation in full." He pressed a button, bringing up a large screen covered in words. It floated behind him, almost eerily, illuminated by an unseen source.

The orator cleared his voice again.

"Step 1: Create a double copy of Karakura town and use 2 consecutive transports to conceal the true location. Next assemble decoy towers to split up enemy forces.

Step 2: Dispatch bulk of Gotei 13 to location in real world where the second copy is set up. Aizen, having learned of the switch, will come in force to the real world in an attempt to wipe out Seireitei's main military force.

Step 3: Send remaining forces to Hueco Mundo to destabilize Las Noches as his seat of power, as well as rescuing Inoue Orihime, and, of course, our main objective, retrieval of the Hougyoku. Captains and others create ruckus outside, allowing me to complete the main objective uninterrupted. I proceed to simultaneously destroy Las Noches and the Hougyoku in one fell swoop, crippling the forces Aizen neglected to take with him. We proceed to retreat to the rendezvous point, where a World Gate, set up beforehand, waits to transport us back to the Zero Court.

Step 4: The forces in the real world will have either now achieved their mission of distraction, or will have been forced back to the second stronghold in Soul Society. Either way, after exodus of forces from Hueco Mundo, Shada and Karim launch their surprise attack, killing or capturing the remaining forces.

At least that would have been the ideal scenario, but it turns out Aizen is less arrogant than I thought. He anticipated his potential loss and set up contingencies allowing him to escape capture. We have, however, succeeded in detaining the 2 surviving espada at that location. They are currently in holding cells in this very castle."

Silence descended upon the room as the briefing ended, but it was soon interrupted by Toushiro. "So the bottom line is that Aizen and the other traitors have all escaped, unharmed?" The anger was evident in his voice.

"Well, I wouldn't say unharmed. Tousen and Ichimaru sustained quite a few debilitating wounds and Aizen himself will die from his injuries in a couple days without treatment. As I said, not quite the desired result. As much as you, I would have preferred this incident in which I have invested nearly half-a-year of my time to be summarily concluded at this point, but as I said, a few loose strings are still present. And to this, I turn to the Commander to ask, as we here at the palace move on to our next major battle, will you continue to give us the support of the Gotei 13, in exchange for my troops' continued presence in the capacity of defence of Seireitei?"

Yamamoto turned to him and said, in his most solemn voice, "It is my wish, as it is of any good Shinigami, to maintain our good relations with the Spirit King and the Zero Court and it would be our honour to continue assisting you in whatever way we are able."

"Thank you. Well, that concludes the meeting. I'm sure you all have many more things you would like to ask me or each other, but I believe you desire rest even more than that. Thank you all for putting up with this meeting and my lateness, despite your numerous wounds and tired bodies. For now, please rest in my castle as my guests for tonight, and let's leave further business for tomorrow."

Everyone raised, some helping their friends who were up in arms get to their rooms, some leaving ahead by themselves. Captain Hitsugaya, however, remained rooted to the spot.

"But what about Aizen! How can you expect us to sleep while that coward is still walking around?"

The Spirit King turned momentarily to address the enlivened youngster. "He's not 'walking around', he will be licking his own wounds and attending to his subordinates', assuming he doesn't want them to die in the next couple of minutes. He won't be doing anything bothersome right away, so I certainly do expect you to rest well, and that's an order, understood?"

The young Captain lowered his eyes and sulkily muttered, "Understood."

"Alright then." The Spirit King walked up to Toushiro and flung his arm around his shoulders. "C'mon, I'll show you to your room."

Shada and Karim sat and watched their master practically drag the sputtering boy out of the room, waiting for everyone to leave before they spoke their minds.

* * *

**Whoa, two more OCs. Also if you recognize the names then yes, I did take them from there, but the characters are original (i.e. the personlities, backstories, etc.). It was just hard to think of good semitic names, and it was easier to use the nice set of which I was already aware (and quite fond). Therefore, think of it as a homage more than anything else.**

**Also I used Reiou again when I said I wouldn't, but 'Spirit King-sama' doesn't exactly roll off my tongue, sooooooo...yeah.**

**P.S. bonus points to anyone who figures out the source of this title, its not as straightforward as my other ones.**


	12. Suzumesashi

**Disclaimer: OCs are mine, CC ('Copyright Characters') is from Code Geass.**

**To clear up any ambiguity, the story here follows canon up until Tousen dies (i.e. Tousen doesn't die here, hooray for Tousen fans, if there are any)**

**Yeah...I had meant to get this one done alot sooner, but school, christmas, getting sick, new semester... that's how it goes.**

**I had planned to make this longer as well, adding the 3rd visitation in this chapter, but I decided (not only to get this up faster) that 3000 words was long enough and that the aforementioned scene can be added to a future chapter I already have planned (I've outlined the next 3 or 4 chapters... I just don't have any time to write).**

**This chapter wraps up loose ends with the battle. Next chapter is back to plotline evolution and character development! (i.e. more Orihime goodness).**

**Enjoy (and review if you do).**

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* * *

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**Chapter 12: Suzume-sashi**

"That's 56 to 8. Mashiro wins again..."

Hachigen was interrupted by the board being sent crashing into the wall, the pieces scattering everywhere.

"All right, set them up again," an angry Muguruma Kensei barked at his former lieutenant, whom he had just lost to at Othello 97 times in a row.

"Eeeeeh! That's mean Kensei, you make me pick them up everytime, even though playing with you is boring and I want to quit..."

Kensei picked up a nearby piece and flung it at the girl's head, causing said girl to cower and shriek.

"We're not stopping until I beat you, so just set them up."

"All right..."

Nobody except Kensei could attain this level of compliance from Mashiro. The last time their de facto leader asked her to do a job, she just pulled down her eyelid and stuck out her tongue at him, after which Love, Hachigen, and Kensei all had to restrain him from chasing and murdering her. For some reason, however, respect perhaps, Mashiro still seemed to obey the chain of command to some degree, even though their days as Captain and Lieutenant were long since past.

The aforementioned leader, currently reclining on the top bunk of one of the beds, turned away from staring at the ceiling and surveyed his comrades' actions.

Mashiro had gathered the pieces and gave Kensei his, as they both sat down to play their... 'How many games was it now', he wondered. Hachi was sitting between them acting as judge, and reminding Kensei that he was not allowed to play certain moves he insisted upon playing. 'How can he not have picked up the rules yet?'

Love and Rose were in a corner without furniture, leaning against the wall and sharing a passionate discourse on the philosophical and aesthetic nature of fine art.

Lisa was sitting below him on her bed, legs dangling over the side, humming to herself softly as she read the special literature she had requested from their hosts. Sometimes she would stop and start fidgeting when she arrived at a particularly intense part of the "story".

'And how is the last member of our ragtag group doing?' he wondered. He shifted slightly so that he could see the door behind him, and the person who had affixed not only her hands, but her feet as well. 'Well, I don't know if what she said about me was true, but she was certainly right when she pointed out the Saru in Sarugaki Hiyori to Orihime and that other human back then,' he mused to himself, immediately deciding not to bring up this ungraceful display with her, unless the timing was funny enough to make up for the beating he was sure to receive afterwards.

He continued to watch Hiyori who, one could not guess by looking at her, had been the most severely damaged of them all in the fight...what was it now, about two days ago? He noticed that her voice was deeper and raspier than when he had last paid attention to her, but that was ages ago so he wasn't the surprised.

'Two days earlier...' he thought, recalling their arrival here. The vaizard, himself included had been drugged; he could tell that much even at the time of their transportation here. They all fell asleep, and when they awoke they were receiving medical attention, but at the same time he had realized that they were all restrained and inside this spacious, but oppressive cell. Even with eight people, two tables and four bunk beds the room had never seemed crowded to him, but it still wasn't comfortable, being constrained from moving about. Hiyori had gotten into a fight with a doctor during his treatment of her, reefing against the shackles put on her for the doctor's safety. He quickly anaesthetized her and finished up all the critical surgery. Since Hiyori had next awoken, she realized she felt almost back to 100% and immediately jumped on the bars, screaming to be let out, and about the many painful things she was going to do to her captors once she had escaped. She screamed for 15 hours straight, until a guard came by – at what Shinji had assumed was evening, although he could not tell for the lack of windows – and quickly stabbed her with a long needle through the bars. She crumpled to the ground, her bed not yet used since her arrival, and slept peacefully until morning, at which time she resumed her tirade.

Needless to say this kind of annoyance only served to worsen the stay for the other seven cellmates, but after about two hours they had mastered the art of selectively tuning her out. It was time, however, to put a stop to this, Shinji decided.

"Hiyori, if that hasn't worked by now it's not going to work, so shut up and let us go about our business in peace."

"Shut up, shithead. Besides, we're _prisoners_, so what business could you possibly have... moron."

"Why don't you just try being quiet for a while and see if it works better at getting their attention?"

"Yeah, right, like that's going to work. Fine. I'll shut up for 5 seconds, but if someone doesn't come to let us out by then, I'm going to scream twice as loud."

Everyone in the room tensed up, all counting the precious 5 seconds of silence in their heads, and bracing themselves the onslaught their ears were about to receive. Hiyori opened her mouth to resume shouting profanities, when a deep, unfamiliar voice cut across her.

"Guess you've finally calmed down. I'll go and tell the master you're ready to hear his terms for your release."

Hiyori was now completely gobsmacked; she looked back and forth between the retreating guard and Shinji, then crossed her arms and sulked off to her bed, where she laid down for the first time, facing the wall so she wouldn't accidently have to see the smug look on Shinji's face.

* * *

After the guard left and spoke to his colleague at the door, who ran off to relay the message, he returned to his post near the cell. After a couple minutes of awkward silence, Shinji decided to break the ice.

"Hey Mr. Guard, couldn't you have done this yesterday, it was only Hiyori who was clamouring, the rest of us were already as calm as we are now."

Hiyori turned quickly to give Shinji the evil eye before retreating back to the wall, but it went unnoticed as all eyes were on the slowly turning guard. It was dark in the room, so they couldn't be sure, but they all simultaneously agreed that he was smirking behind the shadows.

"Well... I suppose I might've, but my orders were clearly to wait until _all _of you were quiet, not just a few. Besides, I would probably have been reprimanded if I had called the King in only to hear such a cacophony."

Before Hiyori (or any of the others, if they had been inclined) could respond, sharp footsteps were heard in the distance. They watched as two figures descended the stairs to the dungeon, and heard yet another unfamiliar voice say, "you two can leave now." The guard next to their cell and one of the people on the stairs bowed and quickly ascended the stairs, while the single remaining visitor continued down until he stood directly in front of their cell. The prisoners were all gawking at his _unusual _appearance until he opened his mouth to speak.

"I suppose you have many questions. Who wants to go first?"

As their leader, no one objected when Shinji spoke first.

"Who are you?"

"The Spirit King."

Surprise flashed across the faces of the Vaizard, but Shinji's desire for answers did not allow him to be silent for long.

"Where are we?"

"One of the nicer medium-security holding cells in my castle." He could see Shinji opening his mouth again, but could already anticipate the question. "Aizen is still alive."

Shinji hadn't been hopeful about Aizen's demise after passing out mid-battle, he even contemplated the possibility of having become his captive after waking up in an unfamiliar-looking jail cell, but the news still disheartened him somewhat. "So... you mind filling us in on the battle for starters?"

"After the operation in Hueco Mundo was finished, my generals ended the battle on Earth. The best case scenario would have been if all 3 traitors had died. As it stands Aizen himself is moderately wounded, but managed to escape with his two much more fatally injured subordinates. I had one of my men administer something similar to the Secret Mobile Ops internal anaesthetic to all non-Goteijuusan personnel left at the battle-site, after which we withdrew to this castle."

Shinji looked at his companions, who were all exchanged looks of concern and surprise, before turning back to face his gaoler. "So what happens to us?"

"I won't lie to you; much of the brass of Seireitei wants you dead –." He was cut off by a hostile yell.

"That's bullshit, we come to help and then you round us up while we're wounded and haul us off to death row? You double-crossing, stupid..." Hiyori trailed off to silence as Shinji gave her a poisonous look signalling her to be quiet and listen.

"As I was saying, many people would rather you be dead," Hiyori glared at him but kept her mouth shut this time, "but I think that would be a waste. Besides, I don't personally see anything wrong with being a little different."

Shinji narrowed his eyes, "are you talking about us being closer to Hollows than 'normal' shinigami? Because the two are worlds apart."

The Spirit King looked bored, "Really? Would it anger you, perhaps, to hear that I regard Humans, Shinigami, and Hollows as essentially equivalent? You only say that out of bitterness. If I had told you this immediately after the incident, you would have agreed with me readily."

Normally one of them would have argued or yelled at him, but there was something imposing about his words that bore down on them heavily, which they soon realized to be the truth. Silence ensued for several minutes as the enormity of the situation sank in.

Almost through gritted teeth, Shinji forced out a few words, slowly increasing in volume and intensity, "If that's so, then why didn't you do anything a hundred years ago! Why wait until now?" All other Vaizard had their heads turned down as their leader voiced their collective emotion.

Pausing, and proceeding to answer very carefully, the Spirit King responded, "It's not even been a year since I became Spirit King. The old King was very – traditional – not to mention passive. I – greatly doubt - that it even reached his ears, let alone moved him to personally pardon you. Probably only Central 46, as well as a few vested nobles, ever directly judged your alleged crimes."

The room was again bathed in silence, until the Spirit King started talking again. "I understand from Captain Yamamoto that you are most decidedly opposed to re-joining the ranks of the Goteijuusan, but – I managed to come up with an alternative that I hope you'll find preferable."

Shinji and a few of the others looked up at him for the first time in several minutes.

"Might I propose you serve me directly?"

If he had been in a more jocund mood Shinji would've burst out laughing. "You're kidding, right? We don't want to associate ourselves with Soul Society in any way, so serving its King is last on our list of priorities."

"I never intended for you to serve the Spirit King. I've been the ruler of a sovereign nation long before I accepted the title of Spirit King. So instead of being shinigami in Soul Society, what do you think of being warriors in service of the King of the Black Land?"

Shinji immediately turned and looked around the cell, after which much hushed discussion and nodding occurred. After only 30 seconds of debate Shinji spun on his heels to deliver his answer.

"We'd be under _your_ protection, not having anything to do with Soul Society?"

He nodded.

"We'd fight your enemies?"

He nodded again.

"One of which is Aizen?"

The final nod brought Shinji's characteristic crooked smile to his face.

"In that case, I think we just might be able to swing somethin', your Highness." He stuck his hand through the bars to shake on the deal. The King surprised him by grasping his wrist instead of his palm.

The King smirked, "Don't worry; this is just how we shake hands around here." After Shinji corrected his form, and they had begun shaking, he added, "Oh, and, I know you only said it in jest now, but you don't have to say, 'Your Majesty'. You can call me – "

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He didn't care what anyone might say; he found the character of both the catacombs and these dungeons to be endearing. Solid stone construction, dark and dank nitre-coated walls, and complete emptiness, barring the few small insects and lichens that, even with their limited physical needs, were hard pressed to survive; what wasn't to like?

He had just ascended two flights of stairs. When the facility was built, he had insisted on making the steps at least two feet wide and one-and-a-half feet deep. When the walls became soaked with moisture during the course of an especially humid day, the carved stone became very slick and hazardous. Those other than himself who used the stairways would be further endangered by their relatively inferior night vision and sense of balance. Besides, he owned the entire dimension; he had enough room to widen the corridor by a mere foot.

Walking through the quiet halls of his estate, combined with the recent successful recruitment of eight Captain-class fighters, had put him in a very good mood. He realized, however, as he approached his next destination, that the same level of tact and sensibility he had used with the Vaizard would be required for his next two errands.

He stopped in front of a cell and looked inside, within which was his next appointment.

"Tia Halibel?"

A woman with a dusky pallor stood up in the back of the cell, and moved out of the shadows towards the bars separating her from her guest.

Her usual clothing discarded, having been ripped to tatters during her confrontations with Hitsugaya and Aizen, she had been given a simple white tunic following the removal of the medical equipment used to save her.

"You are my jailer?" It was spoken in a flat monotone; a bored and depressed sort of voice. It was obviously more of a statement than a question.

"Yes. I'm the Spirit King, a pleasure to mee---"

"Why did you save my life?" A bit thrown at having been interrupted the King pressed onwards.

"To see a talented and dutiful warrior, not to mention a pretty young girl, such as yourself die in such a way would leave a bad taste in my mouth. Also, the fact that you embody the cause of death that is 'sacrifice' would be too tragic to be ironic in this case."

"So, what am I supposed to do with this borrowed life?"

He knew this was coming. Now was critical for his goal to be realized. '_Surely_,' he thought, '_just as compassion and understanding were the things sought after by the Vaizard, hope will win in this case.'_

"I intended for you to serve me."

"I have no intention of allying myself with Shinigami." A hurried response. The next few words were exchanged with haste.

"I'm not a Shinigami."

"Then what are you, a human?"

"Well...sort of."

"I can't ally myself with a human either."

"Why not?"

"Humans and hollows are enemies."

Two times in one day he will have said it, but it was by no means a record.

"To me humans and hollows are the same. You will suffer no discrimination under my watch."

After this she stopped her quick rebuttals and paused for a moment before locking eyes with him. More than anything he had said, the sincerity and understanding she saw in his eyes at that moment swayed her. To her, he appeared to possess more capacity to empathize with her than anyone else she had met.

"What it comes down to is... I don't want to serve anyone ever again; I'd rather you let me die. When I served Aizen my only reason was to preserve the life he could have taken from me if I had disobeyed, but it ended up costing me my reason for living."

"Your reason for living...what was it?"

"My 3 fraccion...they were called my servants, slaves, subordinates, and many other things, but, to me they were..." she trailed off and looked to her right side, not being able to maintain eye contact any longer.

The man reached through the bars and stroked the cheek of the depressed woman for a few seconds before placing his hand on her left shoulder. "This is very important. What were they?"

Haribel paused for a few seconds before answering, and when she had finally collected herself enough to speak her words still came out as barely a whisper. "Sisters."

He did not say anything and waited for her to recollect herself. After a few moments pause she continued, in an increasingly louder, yet still tremulous voice.

"They were like my little sisters. I had them call me 'Onee-sama' when I was sure we were alone...but now they're dead, killed by Aizen."

'_I suppose this means it is my victory,' _he thought.

"Well then, here's my bargain for you. I get you as my servant and, in return," he paused to gently wrap his hand around her chin and draw her face around to meet his. As her empty eyes and his bore into each other, a star of hope was born in them. Pleased at seeing this, he continued.

"In return you will get your sisters back."

* * *

**A few comments:**

**1. I didn't mess up...you really don't get to hear what he calls himself...yet.**

**2. I cut the rest of the conversation with Halibel (just to make the cliffhanger all the better). I plan to address Halibel in a later Chapter or stand-alone story (something of an addendum).**

**3. Vaizard, Halibel, and ....can you guess? You'll have to, since I cut that part too. To be flashbacked in 2-3 chapters.**

**p.s. Suzume-sashi means "spearing the sparrow" (I've heard - I haven't seen that Kanji myself). It's a type of attack strategy used in Shogi (wikipedia it if you don't know it).**

**p.p.s 'Othello' is a game where one player in black and one is white, and you capture rows, columns, or diagonals of opponents pieces by enclosing them between yours (or 'jumping' them). I haven't heard 'Othello' used to name it outside of Japan, but Microsoft calls it 'Reversi', so maybe you've heard of that...**

**Finally, kudos to those of you who saw the tip of the hat I had Mashiro give to another young girl especially gifted at Othello, namely....**

**5**

**4**

**3**

**2**

**1**

**You got it! (I hope)**

**It's Shirahama Honoka from History's Strongest Disciple: Kenichi!**

**Really, though, I hope you get at least some of these references to manga, (I like to think) they add a little humor.. remember to Review (positively, if possible).**


	13. Blind Watcher

**Disclaimer:**** I didn't steal anything from Kubo, so don't steal from me.**

**P****lease pardon my long silence, but I've been busy with other things. Also, please forgive use of garbled Roman characters in the context of the strange language. It was originally done with wingdings, but this site doesn't like that kind of formatting**

**Also. please don't confuse grunting and/or other onamatopeia with the different language, if you can help it.**

**This will be the last installment of this story. But not because the story is over, not by a long shot! This is merely an organizational thing. Look forward to Chapter 14, which will be presented as Chapter 1 of my new story MoaP: [insert appropriate subtitle here].**

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**Chapter 13: Blind Watcher**

Inoue Orihime was officially bored. It had been over a week since she had escaped Hueco Mundo, and the entirety of the time since then had been spent being sequestered in a particular wing of a castle of which she had not even seen the exterior. She had wanted to walk around, but she was strongly advised not to leave the room, except if somebody forgot to bring her food or water.

She had not seen the Spirit King for five days. He had shown up after she had awakened for the first time after the battle to see how she was doing, but even then only stayed for a couple minutes. The next day or two ( she had trouble keeping track of time since there was no natural light and no time-keeping devices to be spoken of) saw him visit a couple more times, if only to poke his head in for a few seconds to verify she was still there. After that he had stopped coming altogether. His subordinate, who she learned was called Ishizu-san, still visited several times a day, but appeared timid in front of her (for some reason) to the extent that having an intelligent conversation was all but impossible.

To the defence of the castle staff, she had been well-accommodated in regards to food, beverages, and all manner of entertainment, from various games to live performers. She had enjoyed it all, but nothing could indefinitely forestall the aching feeling of cabin fever she was now suffering through.

Which was why she was now lost in the darkened halls of the castle.

She had resolved to leave her room and explore the castle once she was sure nobody was outside her room. She had managed to make it a fair distance, but she had yet to see an exit. As she walked she noticed it getting darker and darker, and she soon realized she was getting close to the night sky. Eager to see natural scenery, she hurried towards it but had lost sight of it just as quickly as it had come.

And now here she was, unable to find the moonlight or the way back to her room and, since it was night, there was no one to ask for help either. She knew, of course, her own limitations in regards to orienteering, but had severely underestimated the enormity of the structure in which she was confined when she had been imagining the scenario earlier.

As she pondered and worried, she continued walking, then turned another corner, only to come to face a magnificently adorned wooden door. She thought it looked somewhat imposing. Its unique appearance, however, lent itself to hope, as she had had poor luck with the myriad identical doors lining the halls she had stumbled through, all of which were locked (excluding perhaps her own, but she had no idea where it was). She walked forward, holding this small ember in her heart yet fully expecting the door to stay firmly closed when she pulled, and grasped the gilt handles.

The door opened rather easily, but she did not notice immediately, being at that moment completely entranced by the sight before her.

It could either have been described as a very wild garden or a somewhat manicured forest. The trees all looked as if they had been nice little bonsai that had somehow been enlarged a hundred fold, their proportions preserved, yet now dwarfing the human frame, and forming a tangled canopy of branches starting several feet above her head. As she took in the rare vision before her, she thought to herself, '_maybe my luck is changing.'_

She walked into the forest, entranced, not bothering to notice the fact that it occupied more than a tsubo of land and was a potential labyrinth for her to become hopelessly lost in. There was, however, a nice little lantern-lined path among the twisted trees that took her somewhat deep inside. As she walked, she noticed that the ground was very sparse, there being no low growth to speak of; no bushes, no flowers, not even grass. The ground was, however, covered in small colourful stones, which appeared to have been polished before being distributed carefully between the trunks. Certainly, she thought, this was someone's idea of a garden, as it appeared much too artificial to have occurred naturally.

The path terminated abruptly after meandering from the entrance, and as she turned the final corner she once more witnessed a scene so surprising it had completely erased the events thus far in the night from her mind.

As she processed the sight before her, she realized that this must be the center of the garden, simply because of the neat geometry shown to her. Before her laid an endless sprawling field of flowers; she noticed her favourites immediately, as well as many equally impressive specimens she had never seen before, but instantly came to favour. They were laid out in square plots, with paths dividing them in a grid. The paths were lined with nice fences, or vine-laden trellises, or other aesthetically pleasing decorations, all done in a style reminiscent of both an English country garden and a traditional Japanese one.

She continued walking, consciously making her way closer and closer to the center of this sequence of concentric squares. As she went along, she noticed many insects on the flowers, akin to bees and dragonflies. The closer she looked, though, the stranger they appeared. Although similar to the insects she was familiar with, there was something different and more…colourful, about them. Perhaps if she had thought more critically, she might have noticed that such gaudy and flashy, somewhat iridescent colouring would be impractical for any naturally occurring animal to possess.

Finally, she reached the center of the garden. The sight impressed her, but after so many consecutive surprises she had been expecting an unusual scene.

In the plaza at the very center of the garden stood a white gazebo, which enclosed a wide area, perhaps larger than her own apartment. The structure cast a large shadow underneath it, appreciable even with the small amount of light available at night. The darkness was broken by a blinding light; a floor lamp stood near the centre of the structure, illuminating a strange figure. It was an old man; sitting in a rocking chair, a blanket covering his legs, and his head slumped into his chest; he appeared to the girl to be sleeping.

Sleeping or not, she was frustrated and tired, and he was the first person she had seen in the two hours she had been wandering.

"Ummm…excuse me, sir?" she said in a rather loud voice.

"Zzzz...mmkhxfureh, Wha…" the man spluttered as he woke up suddenly, surprised.

His head lifted from his chest, and he caught his breath before addressing her.

"Oh, you startled me, young lady. Come closer and tell me what you're doing up and about at this late hour."

As she walked towards him, she noticed his strange garments. His torso and legs were completely covered, but what there was from his neck up was enough to intrigue her. He wore a strange cylindrical hat, which seemed quite stiff to her. He had a rugged white beard of about a foot in length and wore a pitch black mask over his eyes, presumably to help him sleep.

"Hmmm... I don't think we've met before; are you a new maid?"

Somewhat perturbed by his playful tone of voice, she responded, "No sir, my name is Inoue Orihime, and I'm..."

The old man interrupted her by smacking his fist into his palm. "Ohh... right! You're that – what did he call it? – flower girl." He seemed quite pleased to have remembered this.

"Umm... I'm not quite sure what you mean, sir. I don't have any flowers for sale if that's what you..."

"No no no," he shook his head seemed quite angry at having been misunderstood, "I mean you use flower, uhhh - spirits, and such – to, umm...engage your enemies with."

In spite of the stuttering and pausing, which she ignored due to his age, she fully understood him this time and smiled back, "Oh! You mean my Shun Shun Rikka. Yeah, that's me."

"I see. It's refreshing to see a free-spirited young girl such as yourself – errr, I mean, it's more fun – since everyone is ... more......business-like, if you know what I mean. Well that's if anyone bothers to have an, umm... serious conversation with me nowadays. Sometimes I don't even see them when they bring me my food, you know... because my... err...perception has waned somewhat over the years," he laughs, "Well that doesn't matter much if they bring it when I'm sleeping, which is a lot recently; you know, you're quite lucky to be able to wander around all night and not collapse from exhaustion. Ahhh, youth! Well the ummm...young master doesn't come around here so often anymore, what with his big – what do you call it... - campaign coming up. But I can still fill up the hours of my days reading, or else I'll get one of those young, errr... whippersnappers to bring my wheelchair so I can ride around the garden; but the flowers and the little critters that run around here aren't really, ummm... good company in my opinion, you know; Yemakhay would've enjoyed this..."

He trailed off, apparently lost in reminiscence. Throughout his monologue, Orihime had been opening and closing her mouth like a fish, trying to get a word in. At last she had her chance.

"Umm... sir? I don't mean to disturb you, but..."

He cut her off once more, "Hmmmm... What? Oh yes, the flower girl! That reminds me, what are you doing here at this hour; can I help you with something?"

"Yes! If you don't mind, I was wondering if you could show me back to my room."

"Hmm... which room would that be?"

Orihime recoiled in shock. '_That's right all the rooms are identical!'_

"Ummm... I'm not sure... is there some sort of standard guest room that you know of?"

He brought a wizened hand up to his beard and stroked it slowly. "Well if you don't know, I can think of a couple of places in this wing we could check, but as you can see I don't have my wheelchair with me at the moment...and I can't really do without it, you know. I haven't been –how should I say it – 'all there' for years now."

He raised the bottom of the blanket covering his lower body. Suffice it to say Orihime was more than slightly shocked when she saw that both of his legs were missing from the knee down.

"Oh my, how awful! How did that happen?" she stopped abruptly and covered her mouth with her hand. Afraid she had been rude, she amended, "...if you don't mind me asking."

"Punishment, you know. Things weren't always this tranquil around here. When the queen died – rest her soul- all those years ago, the state was in an uproar. Although it was for the good of the people, I am ashamed to say I, errr... banded together, somewhat, with the powerful revolutionary party. There was really no way, ummm.... around it, you see, with the young master still an infant to, errr... form an opposing party. Still the new king was a somewhat, ummm... cruel and ill-tempered man to say the least, so he wanted to – how do you say it - put anyone who had been loyal to the previous ruler in their places, so to say. Most just got, errr... beaten or lashed, but top officials such as myself, those who would not relent until the end in our attempts at moderation, had... slightly more severe things done to them. As far as I know, I got the worst of it, with my legs and eyes being taken, you know."

"What! Your eyes?!"

"Hmmm... oh yes. The legs were more of an afterthought, really. He dearly wanted my eyes, you know. Goes back to some issues he had with his father, you see."

"So that mask... I mean, ummm - you're... blind?"

"Oh yes. Pitch-black darkness. I can't see anything - in the, errr... conventional sense. But I can still 'see' more than most blind people. For example," He furrowed his brow, as if squinting.

"Hmm... you're about, what 18 years old? You're eyes... yes, a nice pale colour and...pure – yes, very nice. Your hair is, ummm... red? Don't worry I won't hold it against you, miss. And your body, it's quite... oh my... I see that..."

"Szghrioahshdfklbkxlclasd!"

A garbled, hissing, coarse noise assaulted her ears, interrupting the old man. They both turned to look at the source of the noise.

The old man laughed as he saw him coming, presumably in response to what the he had just heard.

"Ah, Bnamsjdfksjka blkakjsdfnnb alks dslkjsdfkjsg lkjsfgjlkghlkhs lkshjdgflkhl lksdglkhl lskhdgkh aksdj aknhskgash kafs?" greeted the elder of the two men. What surprised Orihime the most was that he said all of this in this complicated tongue without pausing, even a little. Being a clever girl, it quickly occurred to her that he must have just learned Japanese, even to such a high level, only recently; this was apparently the mother-tongue of the blatantly foreign-looking men in front of her.

"Keh, Varoisuodisjdbb." With that, the Spirit King turned to her, "are you ready to get back to your room, Orihime?"

She nodded her consent, and he held a hand to assist her in rising from her seat on the ground she had taken at the start of the old man's long speech. She noticed he was wearing different clothes than she had seen him in before. Every other time she had seen him, he had been dressed in either school clothes or his ceremonial hakama that she assumed to be the traditional garb of the Spirit King. The clothes he wore now were instead reminiscent of the castle staff and, that which she had most recently seen, the old man's hat.

"See you later, young master, and Zasdfjkhkjghsjdbjlkjs!"

The spirit king shook his head and turned around to lead the pair back.

He was unusually quiet on the way back, so Orihime decided to break the silence, to see whether or not he was angry at her for wandering around.

"So, ummm... that language you were speaking earlier... I was wondering...what did you say that he found so funny?"

He turn slightly to regard her, then inclined his head and turned away so that she could not see his face at all. Terrified that she had somehow made him more angry at her, she opened her mouth, preparing to speak again, when the response came, stifled and forced.

"I said... I was telling him 'not to... undress you with his empty eye-sockets'."

To say that she was startled would be an understatement. She closed her mouth and almost tripped over her own feet as her pace shortened drastically in response. As she recovered from the initial surprise, she slowly closed her mouth, and as she did, the ends began to curl up unbidden. As she smiled to herself and resumed walking closely behind him, she thought '_Well, that was surprising. I wouldn't have imagined him saying something like that to me. But for some reason, it makes me happy too.._."

After a little while he slowed down.

"This is your room. Try not to get lost in the future."

She looked quite abashed, "Errr...yeah, sorry about that, ha ha ha..."

An awkward silence ensued. After several moments, he realized she was hesitant to enter her room.

"Did you still want something?"

"Oh! Well it's just... it's nice to be able to joke about it, but... what happened to that old man is really horrible, isn't it?

"To Shimon, you mean?"

"I don't know he never told me his name..."

"That old geezer..." he clenched his fist. "Well, yes, he was crippled - in a way – but he remains functional. I'm sure from what he told you that you know that those times were rough on everyone, and he's very ... aware of that to this day."

He opened the door for her, "Now, good night."

She didn't have time to say a word before he had left. _'Is it my imagination or did he leave rather abruptly."_

She lay down in her bed and turned off the light, but did not fall asleep right away. She pondered his words for a little while before giving up and falling asleep. She did not know it at the time, but it would be weeks from then, not that same night, until she was able to comprehend the meaning of the words he hadn't spoken.

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**Hope everyone (is there anyone here?) enjoyed that as much as I did. Thanks for reading and please, take 1 minute and review. I mean c'mon, seriously. Or fave... either one's like a gold star to me.**

**P.S. I didn't do a second proof-read, so feel free to point out any typos.**


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